LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



00001^7247 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG 



AUTOTYPE. S.S.B.iC 



CHARLES HAMILTON. 

FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY M ESS RS MAULL & C? PICCADILLY. 



§ 

ORIENTAL ZIGZAG 



WANDERINGS IN SYRIA, MOAB, ABYSSINIA, 
AND EGYPT 



BY 

/ 

CHAELES HAMILTON 

ATJTHOE OF "LIKE AND SPOET IN SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA" 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY FRITZ WALLIS FROM ORIGINAL SKETCHES 
BY THE AUTHOR 



LONDON 

CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY 
1875 



[All Rights Reserved] 




PBINTED BY TAYLOR AND CO., 
LITTLE QUEEN STEEET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELD So 



5 



TO MY FAITHFUL FRIEND, 

F. G. H. PBICE, ESQ., 
£ titrate 

THIS EECOED 

OP 

TWO YEARS OF TEAVEL IN THE EAST. 

C. EL 



London, 

October, 1874. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Alexandria .1 

CHAPTER II. 

Port Said 11 

CHAPTER III. 

Jaffa 18 

CHAPTER IV. 

Jerusalem .27 

CHAPTER V. 

Gaza. — Khan Yunus. — WadyArish. — Tatlugay. — Beit Jebrtn. 
— Hebron. — Jebel Usdum 42 

CHAPTER VI. 

Moab 62 

CHAPTER VII. 
Nablous — Nazareth. — Acre. — Tyre. — Sidon. — Beyrout . . 97 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Ismallia. — Suez 



120 



viii 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PAGE 

Jedda .131 

CHAPTER X. 

Abyssinia 138 

CHAPTER XI. 

Massouah. — Oret. — Mashallat 151 

CHAPTER XII. 
Bedjuk 171 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Keren . 189 

CHAPTER XI 

Return to Massouah 204 

CHAPTER XV. 

Tel Basta — Zagazig.— Tanta. — Zankaloon.— Cairo . . 216 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Outrage on British Subjects 247 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Homeward Bound . . . 268 

ADDENDA . . . . 275 

APPENDIX 281 



v 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



CHAPTEE I. 

ALEXANDRIA. 

My stay here did not extend over a week ; and I can- 
not say that I was much gratified with this famous 
Eastern port. In company with my friends, Mr. Mundy, 
of Derbyshire, and Mr. Thellusson, I sought to while 
away the time in visiting the various places of amuse- 
ment/ — of which there are not many; but my only agree- 
able reminiscence is of the German Singing Rooms, at 
which the music is executed on stringed instruments by 
women from Trieste ; and I must not omit to note, as 
well worthy of the traveller's patronage^ one or two 
coffee-houses kept by very beautiful Spanish ladies. 
These offer a bright contrast to the surrounding esta- 
blishments, of which Arabs — principally Algerians — are 
the proprietors; who have a mixed idea of making coffee 

B 



2 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



combining the fashion of Algeria, which is French, with 
the Turkish mode of flavoring. 

Some of the streets are filthy in the extreme, and our 
only marvel was how the inhabitants contrived to escape 
the cholera. Very remarkable is the Greek quarter of 
the town, with its dreadful hovels sheltering its fearfully 
degraded population. Here one is oppressed with a 
peculiar faint odour, which we found no difficulty in trac- 
ing to the environment of vast establishments of wire- 
hided Maltese pigs ; which are maintained in spite of the 
Mussulman abhorrence of the unclean animal. Against 
the Greek element, indeed, remonstrance would be of no 
avail in Alexandria. The Greek is the only nation that 
the Egyptian dreads. Upon the most trifling provoca- 
tion or insult from a Mahommedan, the Greek does not 
hesitate to fillet him at once; and the consequence is 
that the Arab, fully alive to his antagonist's resolute 
ways, carefully avoids getting into disputes with him. 
Notwithstanding this radical opposition of race, however, 
it is curious to remark that the Greeks largely employ 
themselves as money-lenders to the Arabs, and act as 
small bankers to them. With the exception of the 
French, they are the only people who ever get their 
loans repaid ; and, in explanation of the success of the 
French in that section of commercial life, it is only 
necessary here to observe that the French Consulate are 
wont to make most extraordinary demands when pay- 
ments of money are not faithfully observed. 

As a matter of course, we strolled through the Bazaars 
for the purpose of making those few purchases which 



ALEXANDRIA. 



3 



travelling humanity, at large Seems to be quite unable to 
do without. Amber beads and beautiful Circassian fabrics 
were submitted to us by the Arabs at most exorbitant 
rates. Profiting by previous experience, we offered just 
a quarter of the sums demanded ; upon which our traders 
readily came to terms ; and even then we had the satis- 
faction of subsequently ascertaining that we had given 
twice too much for our bargains. 

In the evening we visited a quarter in Alexandria, 
where are to be found the old Egyptian dancing-women. 

At the bottom of a frightfully precipitous and for- 
bidding-looking doorway, whence issued odours by no 
means to be confounded with Sabean, we were severally 
presented with a kind of rush-light candles. Following 
our Nubian guide, we found ourselves in a filthy room, in 
which were visible eight women, whom we presumed to 
be fast asleep, though whether they were so or awake we 
could not accurately tell, their faces being enveloped in 
yashmaks. Be the state of their somnolency what it 
may, however, the Nubian lost no time in rousing the 
ladies to a proper sense of our requirements by distribut- 
ing tremendous kicks all around him. The effect was 
magically instantaneous. The poor creatures started to 
their feet and began dancing. After indulging in the 
saltatory exercise for about a quarter of an hour, the 
usual demand of payment ensued. It happened that we 
did not hurry in this particular; whereupon two huge 
Arab bullies, evidently belonging to the establishment, 
made their appearance, and in broken English framing 
" Baksheesh" enforced the demand. We gladly complied 

2 b 



4 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



witli the condition of our release, the smell of the place 
being such that we determined not to see anymore of the 
ballet. The dress of the dancing-women, I may add, 
consisted of loose Turkish trousers, palpably dirty at the 
bottom, and a kind of tight-fitting jacket encircling the 
shoulders. They were exceedingly ugly, and extremely 
thin ; the latter characteristic being easily accounted for 
by the poverty of the food they get, which, it may easily 
be understood, is not likely to be over-nutritious in such 
a dear Eastern town as Alexandria, where imported food 
rules at almost famine prices. 

The night was very dark ; and, as in both the Greek 
and the Arab quarters of the town lamps are suspended 
only here and there, — before the door of an Armenian 
merchant or of some private household of position, — we 
soon lost our way ; and the perils of an unlighted district 
were unfortunately realised by myself in being engulphed 
in a tremendous bog which lay in the centre of the street 
for the reception of all the filthy garbage of the neigh- 
bourhood. My loud cries for help to be extricated from 
this unpleasant situation attracted the attention of a 
passing Turkish khavass, who speedily came up and, ex- 
claiming Botel ! Bote! ! (Nasty ! Nasty !), assisted in 
dragging me out. He afterwards informed me that, if I 
had been an Arab, he would have locked me up for 
walking about the streets without a lantern. No Oriental, 
indeed, dare be abroad without one; and I have seen this 
place fitfully curious and picturesque with the variety of 
hand-lanterns carried by the inhabitants after dark, 
ranging from the graceful Algerian lanterns, which I 



ALEXANDRIA. 



5 



take to be the most beautiful of all lanterns, to the quaint 
paper lanterns bought from ships newly arrived from 
China. This regulation of lantern-carrying, the reader 
will not fail to reflect, but serves to illustrate the 
benevolently paternal character of the Viceroy's rule. 
Knowing the moral worth of Self-help, he requires his 
subjects to supply their own wants in the way of street 
illumination. 

A few minutes may be profitably spent among the 
Arab cook-shops here. I saw fish of all sorts and sizes 
being cooked, and crowds of Arabs hurrying to purchase 
their piastre's worth, and running off with their acquisi- 
tions in their little copper plates. 

The Armenians are a very wealthy community; and 
they seem to thrive here under the Viceroy's rule better 
than in any other of the dependencies. They are a 
highly educated people ; and they certainly are the best 
dressed in Egypt, importing their fashionable habiliments 
from England, where they are disposed to think Nicoll 
of Eegent Street is the supreme artist in the sartorial 
line. Previous to the defeat of the French by the 
Germans, Paris was the emporium whence they derived 
their fashionable toggery : London has now succeeded to 
that distinction. They number several very accomplished 
pianistes in their body; they sing well; they talk well; 
in fact, they are generally great linguists : and I am 
puzzled to reconcile these evidences of elegant minds and 
refined manners with the geographical fact of Armenia's 
remoteness from the civilising influences operating on 
the rest of the world. As an example of their social 



6 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



weight and influence, I may adduce the case of Nuba 
Pasha, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who originally 
was an Armenian and a Turkish slave. This man once 
was accredited to London, where he was very well treated, 
and I believe he owes much to England in respect of his 
subsequent elevation. He is a very plausible official, but, 
as I should take it, somewhat evasive. The delegates 
employed by him in the course of public business are 
mostly Armenians; and I have no hesitation in saying 
that they are superior even to English detectives in the 
careful arrangement of matters to suit their own ends. 

We visited the Pasha's Gardens, which, being a mix- 
ture of weeds and straggling flowers, did not evoke our 
enthusiasm beyond reasonable bounds. But I must own 
to having seen here the loveliest carnations I ever set 
eyes on. * These flowers had been brought, I was told, 
from Portugal; and my experience of the interior of 
Portugal confirmed the truth of the information. The 
varieties were numerous ; rose and cream were the 
colours that particularly arrested attention ; and one 
variety was almost as large as the blossom of a rose. 
These beautiful flowers, it was easy to see, had won the 
admiration of some fair occupant of the Harem; and 
the care and attention of the gardener were stimulated to 
a healthful activity by the knowledge that the bastinado, 
or the galleys at Alexandria, would be the sure penalty 
of his neglect to gratify the lady's floral tastes. 

There is a small sheet of ornamental water, in which 
the Egyptian lotus might expand itself pictorially, to the 
gratification of visitors : but it is a striking illustration of 



ALEXANDRIA. 



7 



the miserably narrow mind of the functionary in charge 
of the public Gardens of Alexandria. He has actually 
converted it, from its original ornamental purpose, into a 
place for raising and fatting ducks and geese, which are 
purchased from the stewards of ships in the port ; pol- 
luting the water which otherwise would be limpid and 
pretty with the foliage of the lotus, which you see nipped 
off just as it is coming to flower. These Gardens were 
planned by the great Abbas Pasha, a warm friend to 
Europeans; in fine, for an Oriental despot, I may venture 
to say, a great and generous man; the intelligent pro- 
moter of enterprise, and the far-seeing patron of trade, 
who did not forget to attend to the interests of his own 
subjects. The fellah in his village to this day may be 
heard to exclaim " Happy were we when Abbas Pasha 
was our ruler ! " He sternly repressed the Greek domi- 
nation and interference; and, kind to the English, he 
was always concessional to the French. I can only 
regret that his character has not been dwelt upon by 
some one better able to do it justice than I can in this 
passing notice of him. 

Mr. Drake, of the Palestine Exploration Fund, and I 
proposing to take donkey-exercise, two magnificent 
animals were brought to our hotel, rejoicing in the 
exalted titles of "His Eoyal Highness the Prince of 
Wales," and the " Marquis of Bute." The donkey boys 
are the wits of Egypt, — chartered libertines to whom 
alone is accorded the privilege of freely expressing their 
thoughts and of indulging in satiric comment on men 
and things ; and accordingly great is their liveliness. 



8 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



When the animal on which I was seated did not keep up 
with my companion, my boy would sing out gleefully : 
" You no good, Marquis of Bute ! you big fool ! Prince 
of Wales donkey very good ! 99 As we passed other 
travellers mounted on donkeys, we found that every one 
of them derived its name from the English Peerage. 
One venerable animal I once had brought to me to ride 
was called " Lord Napier ; 99 and we ascertained that the 
name of the winner of the Derby is regularly awaited 
every year, and allotted to a special donkey candidate 
for the distinction of such nomination ; — not a bad mode 
of diffusing and perpetuating the glorious traditions of 
the English Turf. 

These donkey-boys will conduct you to any place you 
want ; they are without exception the best dragomen in 
Egypt, with the advantage of being many a hundred per 
cent, cheaper than the regular members of that class. 
They are very observant, too; and I cannot help ac- 
counting for the fact by the circumstance that they are 
continually coming into contact with lively, good- 
natured youngsters of our own nation, on their way out 
to India and elsewhere, who make it their business to 
have a good deal of cheerfulness and fun on their hands, 
during their short stay in Alexandria. Donkeys, be it 
remembered, are the cabs of Alexandria, and the experi- 
ence of character likely to be gained by these boys in a 
twelvemonth is not inconsiderable. Their benevolence is 
an additional recommendation. I cannot forget one 
instance of my donkey-boy's concern for my happiness. 
I was seated in the balcony of Abbott's hotel, engaged in 



ALEXANDRIA. 



9 



serious conversation with a friend, when it occurred to 
my donkey-boy that I was oppressed with gloominess ; 
which he forthwith sought to disperse by introducing 
some wonderful jugglers, who performed several feats, 
both dexterous and amusing; not the least singular of 
which was the production of any number of guinea-pigs 
out of their mouths. 

Building progresses rapidly in Alexandria, and some 
very nice houses were in course of erection during my 
stay. Arab labour is obtained cheap by every nation 
except the English, who have to pay through the nose 
for everything ; and I was greatly amused to find that 
the Arabs knew how matters stood in the way of high 
prices at home; to which they have apparently resolved 
to accommodate their own charges. 

The Police force of Alexandria consists chiefly of 
Italians, who get about £8 a month, — by no means a 
good order of men. Very few of these low Italians are 
reliable ; in my opinion, they are a far worse class of men 
than the Greeks ; in regard to whom I will interpose the 
observation that a good Greek is a very good fellow. 

To shew how travellers are systematically fleeced by 
the dragomen, let me here record a small experience of 
my own, which fortunately did not go to the full length. 
Yielding to the languor which creeps over one in places 
like Alexandria, and to the persuasive tongue of one of 
these harpies, hanging about the hotel, who said he 
could get my ticket for Jaffa (from the Russian Steam- 
boat Office) at a great deal less than I could manage it 
myself, I commissioned him to go and ascertain its exact 



10 



0RIEN1AL ZIGZAG. 



cost. After an interval, lie returned with, the intimation 
that it was five pounds. Luckily I did not entrust the 
execution of the commission to him : I said " All right ; 
I am in no hurry for it." But, when I applied at the 
office on the next day, I found that the ticket cost two 
pounds. This is only one of numerous cases within the 
range of my knowledge, in which the dragomen have 
more than cent-per-centified their charges. The travel- 
ler must never relax the severity of his vigilance against 
them. 

Before leaving for Jaffa, I bade farewell to two of the 
best young Englishmen it has ever fallen to my lot to 
meet ; and I would here record my grateful sense of 
their charming amiability, and of the kind consideration 
they evinced for me during our ship voyage together, 
when, in a hurricane we encountered, the water poured 
into my cabin and deluged everything I had. My part- 
ing from them was painful. I saw them off by train for 
Cairo ; and with heavy heart I left Alexandria on my 
travel Jaffa- wards. 



CHAPTER II. 



POET SAID. 

The little Russian steamer on which I now found 
myself was the cleanest boat I ever set foot on. The 
Captain was Russian, as were also the steward and the 
under- steward, with a Greek crew ; a nd the civility of all 
and sundry was all that could have been desired, though 
it was somewhat impeded by the awkward circumstance 
that none of them (save the Captain) could speak a word 
of English. By way of amends for this drawback, how- 
ever, we enjoyed the privilege of the society of a Mis- 
sionary, an Arab who professed to have been converted 
to Christianity, and whose career illustrates the old text 
that godliness is gain. There are people who strive 
earnestly to make the best of both worlds. This man 
certainly applied himself with exemplary zeal to making 
his sublunary lot as comfortable as he could possibly 



12 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



render it. He had been married twice, and both, the 
ladies whom he had matrimonially honoured were Eng- 
lish. His first wife was a woman of considerable for- 
tune, — a perfect fanatic, who had to pay a terrible 
penalty for her views, and on whose death he succeeded 
to her wealth. Providing for his domestic comfort, he 
married again; and this poor woman was a victim to 
Asiatic law in respect of social rites, the observance of 
which he, although converted to Christianity, rigorously 
exacted. He had been to England, and, by taking a 
tour through districts of a serious turn of mind (especi- 
ally Scotch towns) had succeeded in raising the wind to 
the respectable tune of £2000 ; and, when I add that he 
enjoys an annual income of £900 duly remitted to him in 
quarterly instalments by zealous friends in England, his 
lot will be pronounced to be alarmingly un- Apostolical. 
We also had on board a Lady Missionary, between whom 
and the aforesaid Gospel-diffuser there was little love 
lost, for they soon came to loggerheads. Awaking to 
the unseemliness of the exhibition, however, they sus- 
pended hostilities, and bombarded me with applications 
for subscriptions to u the good cause." These I respect- 
fully but firmly resisted ; and, when they discovered that 
my No was not to be translated into Yes, it was not long 
before they provided themselves with some pretext for 
communicating to me the delightful intelligence that I 
was " not a gentleman." These people, I have always 
observed, reserve this thunderbolt of social annihilation 
for those who refuse to comply with their impudent 
demands : but, while there is hope of a haul, you are 



PORT SAID. 



the pink of perfection. When Porson was told of Dr. 
Parr's praise of him as being a giant in literature, the 
mighty Grecian expressed doubt as to his critic's ability 
to take the measure of a giant. So, I meekly informed 
these exemplary bipeds that they unfortunately had had 
no social opportunities for knowing what either ladies or 
gentlemen were like, and that they were not sufficiently 
educated to appreciate the distinctions of class ; and I 
further explained that, in the event of their securing ad- 
mission to the presence of such personages, a cold bath 
every morning would not be held undesirable, — cleanli- 
ness being closely associated with godliness. 

Our diet on board really was very good, though the 
Missionary (evidently a man not easy to be satisfied) 
grumbled all the way about it. At seven in the morning 
a cup of splendid Oriental coffee, with a rusk, was 
brought into my cabin, and the bath-room announced to 
be open. There was a luxury in the mention of the 
bath, which I soon realised to the full of enjoyment. As 
I paced the deck afterwards, smoking a narghil, I could 
command a view of the Greek and Eussian pilgrims, who 
swarmed with vermin, congregated in groups around 
their priests, who were offering up prayers, and under 
whose guidance they were being conducted to the Holy 
Land. 

Many of these poor creatures were suffering from oph- 
thalmia, of which they devoutly believed the cure would 
be instantaneous and complete when they should wash 
their eyes in the water of the Jordan ; and they treated 
my admonition to use regularly any water they could get 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



for their relief, with, the disdain of incredulity. Lassi- 
tude, diet, opium- smoking and chewing, all seemed to 
combine to render them utterly indifferent to the ills they 
bear and the privations they undergo; and happy per- 
haps it is that it is so, for, to reach Jerusalem, the Rus- 
sian pilgrim will go through the most acute difficulties. 

The Mediterranean was as blue as the sky above us, 
with not a ripple on its surface ; and the motion of our 
bright little steamer was hardly perceptible, — to which 
fortunate circumstance I was indebted for my escape 
from the unsavoury spectacle of the united sea-sickness 
of all these highly bilious people. After prayers, Arab 
fashion, all kinds of boxes were unpacked, and things 
produced for me to buy, My ready answer to these 
applications always was te MafeesJi" signifying " I have 
nothing." This seemed to settle them, the attainment 
by a European of a word or two of Arabic being reck- 
oned highly satisfactory. 

At breakfast the first course was a dish of Bologna 
sausage, sliced, with excellent Hungarian wine (dis- 
pensed in tumblers), which makes you feel, in Arab 
phrase, ee nice tipsy," indeed warming one up and ren- 
dering him quite jolly. Then followed succulent ham, 
capital curries, and a peculiar Russian brawn, well suited 
to the climate. I dwell upon these delicacies with 
extreme satisfaction, as having been superior to the much 
vaunted table of the P. and 0. Company \ who, by the 
way, are not so nice as people are apt to imagine. 

• Our dinner consisted of soup, chickens, prime turkey, 
and good leg of mutton of a fine fat Syrian sheep; an 



PORT SAID. 



excellent repast, washed down with splendid English 
bottled ale and the exhilarating Hungarian wine. Dis- 
satisfied as he was with all these gastronomic appliances, 
the Missionary yet devoted himself with rare assiduity to 
his fare, and paid the penalty of gluttony in sundry fits 
of indigestion, when it was frightful to hear him. Dur- 
ing one of these his poor wife, I believe, came in for a 
vigorous slap or two on the face, if indeed she did not 
get some heavier chastisement ; which it was by no 
means pleasant to be told of. But these missionaries, as 
a rule, fancy themselves Lord-Archbishops of Canter- 
bury, and quite the upper crust of all their fellow travel- 
lers ; and our ravenous reverend, like most wilful people 
in the world, was allowed to go on with his eccentricities 
and cruelties unchecked. 

The light-house of Port Said, at the entrance to the 
great Canal, is a very fine one, built, like all those here- 
abouts, on the French model. Opinions will, of course, 
vary : but I hope I shall not provoke the wrath of 
eminent mariners when I say that they appear to be 
thoroughly efficient. They are under the superinten- 
dence of Maurice Bey, Controller of Egyptian Light- 
houses to His Highness the Viceroy, and a Captain in 
Her Majesty's Navy ; — an admirable fellow to whom I 
may have occasion to refer hereafter. 

On emerging to our view, Port Said looked like a poor, 
quickly-got-up, French Canadian place; and this first 
impression I subsequently found to be confirmed by the 
'reality. I was greatly pleased, however, with the Square, 
called after M. de Lesseps ; in the centre of which is a 



i6 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



tastefully laid out garden, with an ample tank of water, 
surmounting which is a Swiss-shaped orchestra in which 
the band plays thrice a week. The music is of a very 
mixed character, horrible Turkish strains alternating with 
exquisite French airs and Classical Operatic melodies. 
The only English piece I heard played was u The Last 
Eose of Summer." The Arabs pay little attention to 
Music \ in fact, they regard it (certainly as volume d by 
Western art) with the same feelings of alarm with which 
they look upon bell-ringing, though they have their own 
one-stringed instruments. Bell-ringing with them is 
opposed to decency and order ; and they have a supersti- 
tious fear lest the spirits of the dead should be disturbed 
by the tintinnabular clangour. I was not a little amazed, 
therefore, to see that men who might be said to have 
been just caught from the wild desert could be found 
equal to the execution of airs from " Faust/ 3 

There is one very good edifice in the Square, the 
internal arrangements of which, comprising a superb 
bath-room with all European appliances, are the most 
perfect in Port Said. It is the residence of Mr. Eoyal 
and Mr. Webster, Directors of the Port Said Coal 
Company, two hearty Englishmen, whose kindness to me 
will be commemorated further on. 

It may seem a small matter to record, but I have a 
vivid recollection of the pleasure I derived from a draught 
of new milk which I got from a Frenchman who was the 
proprietor of two French cows, — the only two European 
animals I saw during my sojourn in the East. My thirst 
on the occasion combined with the satisfaction of knowing 



PORT SAID. 



17 



that the milk was pure (for the old Frenchman milked the 
cow before me) to render that refreshment memorable. 
The cows also, let me add,, suffered from ophthalmia. 

Port Said; be it noted, by virtue of its being the 
French settlement in Egypt, is markedly French in its 
characteristics. It is irradiated with the cheerfulness of 
la belle France ; and at the cafes, to which all grades 
resort, you may see rascals of every variety, Communists, 
Napoleonists, and all the other ists. It is a singular 
social medley, an omnium-gatherum of a very variegated 
pattern in which every colour is represented : but the 
confines of the Desert impose a certain degree of poli- 
tical sobriety on these too inflammable spirits, who find 
here that it does not pay to quarrel about nothing, and 
who, therefore, wisely attend just to earning their own 
honest livelihood. Would that more could be induced to 
follow their example ! Unhappy France could well spare 
a few shiploads of these dangerously ardent "patriots," 
who apparently will not recognise the advantage of their 
deportation for their country's good. 



CHAPTEE III. 



JAFFA. 



Our landing at Port Said broke the monotony of our 
voyage to Jaffa, for which we now pursued our course. 
The time so occupied was about forty hours, during which 
we coasted a good deal. I was impressed by a remark 
made by our (Russian) Captain in the course of a miscel- 
laneous conversation, that people who go to the Holy 
Land are seldom very holy after accomplishing their 
journey. This he explained by saying that one such trip 
did away with all the grandeur one was wont to associate 
with the Holy Land, and that religious fervour soon sub- 
sided after witnessing the dirt and misery accumulated 
there ; — a striking illustration of the poet's observation 
that it is distance which lends enchantment to the view. 
Stage properties in the garish light of day are seldom 



JAFFA. 



19 



inviting ; or, to speak more positively, they are very dis- 
appointing. 

We anchored off Jaffa, about three-quarters of a mile 
from the land; and we had hardly done so, or were 
barely conscious of the operation,, when the whole ship 
was invaded by Arabs in the most tumultuous manner, 
one in eagerness of competition knocking the other 
down. The contest was for the transport of our luggage, 
and I am sure it lasted over half an hour. I said to the 
Captain "How long will this fun go on?" "Oh!" 
answered he, "they will fight it out all round till the 
excitement is over, and then they will calmly await your 
orders." In the meantime he suggested that we should 
have a cup of coffee together. Their fervour subsided 
even as he told me it would evaporate ; and, by the time 
we had leisurely finished our coffee, all these scoundrels 
had become perfectly calm, and awaited the future in an 
unexceptionably business frame of mind. Up started now 
a dragoman, who put into my hands about twenty several 
letters of recommendation from as many English gentle- 
men whom he had had the distinguished honour (to use 
his own language) to conduct through the Holy City and 
other parts of the Holy Land. We are all pretty well 
agreed as to the worth of written testimonials of the sort: 
but it is easy to see that these flattering acknowledgments 
of services rendered are made by those who, having got 
into the clutches of exceptionable dragomen (and their 
name is Legion), release themselves from the hateful 
incubi by the expedient of dismissing them with a flourish 

c 2 



20 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



of trumpets. The morality of the proceeding is not 
beyond impeachment; and inexperienced travellers, of 
whom there is annually a very large number, become 
victims to their blind confidence in these worthless docu- 
ments. This fellow glibly enumerated the names of 
every person of distinction who had recently travelled in 
the East, and I soon satisfied myself, from the lofty tone 
of this high-minded gent, that an aide-de-camy of his 
stamp was quite beyond my humble measure. He was 
arrayed in coat and knickerbockers which once had 
clothed the august frame of the Marquis of Bute ; to 
whom I suppose also belonged the fashionable laced 
Eegent Street shoes in which his crural extremities were 
enveloped. His stout Arab legs, let me do him the 
justice to record, won the warm admiration of an 
American lady, who at Jerusalem expatiated on his 
heroic proportions; — judging of Hercules by his foot, 
she admired him " so thoroughly for his whole physique." 

I put myself for the nonce under his direction, and was 
taken ashore in a boat, for which I had ±o pay half-a- 
crown ; when I was conducted to a hotel kept by a very 
sharp German, who had been made a kind of Consul to 
the American Government under Consul- General Hay of 
Beyrout. This dragoman, who was perhaps one of the 
most outrageous of existing scamps, — one of those men 
who would try to " do *' you in every variety of way, but 
withal of the civillest possible type, — now applied himself 
to business, asking if I proposed to go on with horse to 
Jerusalem. " How much you pay for one horse ?" "Six 
shillings," said I. " Two pounds," was the demand. I 



JAFFA. 



21 



resolutely stuck to six shillings : and tlie bargain ulti- 
mately was struck for eight. Let me note that useful 
horses are to be had here in great numbers, and the 
traveller need never fear for an adequate supply. I 
had arranged for my supper and bed for the night for 
twelve shillings : but, through the dragoman's machina- 
tions doubtless, in the morning a demand of thirty 
shillings was made on me, which I inflexibly refused to 
comply with. This is the common mode of extortion; 
and most people, to avoid the unpleasantness of contest- 
ing these outrageous claims, quietly submit to them, and 
thereby foster the system. 

I visited the Orange Groves, which I think I can safely 
say are the largest in the world ; covering, it is told, an 
extent of six miles. The oranges were the largest I ever 
saw, and the Tangerines were in great perfection. A 
Syrian girls' school is in operation here; and I was shewn 
the residence of Simon the Tanner : but I am more con- 
cerned to record the fact that that excellent lady, Mrs. 
Hay, the mother of the American Consul-General, resides 
here. Altogether, nothing very interesting arrested my 
attention: but the perfume of the Orange Groves was 
delightfully refreshing after the terrible Asiatic stinks of 
Alexandria and the noisomeness of the pilgrims on board 
the steamer. 

At nine in the morning our party mounted their horses, 
and made a start, — which was a great thing to be able to 
do, leaving all our extortioners behind. I was on a 
superb chestnut Arab] mare, which went along, for a con- 
siderable distance, like the wind. All horses bought of 



22 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



the Bedouins start at full speed at once, being trained to 
the habit. Riding out of the Orange Groves, we got to 
a curious old watering-place, where the mules were 
kicking and biting one another to get first to the water. 
This advised us that no water was to be had for a good 
way, and we deemed it prudent to dismount and water 
our steeds. Upon remounting we made up our minds 
not to pull rein until we arrived at what is called the 
Half-way House, kept by a Dutchman. On the road we 
were much struck with the cultivation of wheat, of which 
there were some really good fields, causing me to exclaim 
that European hands must have been at work here to 
produce these results. We learned that a large colony 
of Americans settled in this region, a few years before, 
and had devoted themselves to the cultivation of the 
land; but their director, or president, had misappro- 
priated the money of the community and decamped? 
leaving the honest sons of labour perfectly destitute of 
means, I believe almost starving. The tidings of their 
distress reaching the ears of a benevolent countryman, 
who was travelling in Syria at the time, he liberally paid 
the cost of the passages of the whole settlement back to 
America, out of his own private 'pocket. All departed 
but one ; and that solitary survivor of the ill-fated society 
lives at Jaffa, and is a dragoman of exemplary behaviour, 
who has the additional virtue of being an intelligent 
anecdotist. The last time I saw him, he was acting as 
dragoman to Mr. and Mrs. How. 

The Valley of Sharon was carpeted with one continuous 
magnificent blaze of red anemones. Syrians will tell you 



JAFFA. 



23 



that they are the roses of Sharon. Such a mass of 
blossom I never before set eyes on ; and they may be 
seen growing midst the wheat, like our English poppies. 
The skylark abounds here, but it is never known to sing. 
Quail also are plentiful. The cattle, of which the pre- 
vailing colour is black or fawn, though of small size, are 
very enduring, being kept at the plough all day. They 
work the milking cows as well as the oxen, — and poor 
milkers they are : in fact, the Syrian goat will yield a 
quart, at a milking, to the pint of the Syrian cow. But 
the milk in this region is very rich. 

About half-past twelve we arrived at the Dutchman's 
Half-way House, a clean, tidy caravansary, before which 
lay resting twenty camels laden with baggage, under the 
guard of two Arab khavasses, who would be held respon- 
sible in the event of any loss. As we approached the 
door, we witnessed the immediate decapitation of three 
chickens, which were then thrust into boiling water and 
stripped of their feathers. In about twenty minutes, 
while we refreshed ourselves with brandy and water, 
there were signs of food being on the way ; and we did 
not fail to do justice to it, when set before us, the evident 
cleanliness of the place with its whitewashed walls stimu- 
lating the appetite. Mounting our horses after a short 
spell, we continued our ride, during which we were 
pursued, for at least one hour, by two Arab youths who 
shouted Baksheesh! incessantly. Of course we did not 
regard the application so pertinaciously made : but their 
resolution was evinced by the fact that they kept pace 
with our horses. In truth, these Arabs find no difficulty 



24 



ORIENTAL ZIGZA G. 



in keeping up with, any European horseman. When we 
got off to rest our steeds, the prospect was a charming 
one. Behind us was visible the lovely Mediterranean, 
whose blue baffles alike literary and pictorial delineation ; 
and before us was Bal Wady, or the Gate of the 
Mountains. 

This point may be said to be the entrance to the 
mountains. As we approached the house, two wild- 
looking Arab ostlers rushed out in their usual excited 
tvay on the advent of travellers, and pulled at our horses' 
reins as if they were most murderously inclined, calling 
upon us in Arabic to dismount ; my directions in English 
being rewarded with the iteration of Mushareef (I don't 
understand). No sooner did we dismount than they set 
to shoving us up some most curious steps, which con- 
ducted to an upper courtyard with doors on either side ; 
within which I caught sight of a batch of Russian pil- 
grims regaling themselves with boiled beans and olives 
off a filthy tablecloth. This was our first introduction to 
real Syrian fare, and it was so uninviting that we 
prudently resolved to postpone refreshments until we 
reached Jerusalem, which was about four hours off. Our 
nags, however, were supplied with barley, and tibbin, 
which is the cut straw of the barley. 

Eesuming our journey at two p.m., we soon came up 
with the spectacle of a couple of Syrian wolves enjoying 
the remains of a dead donkey. The ascent of the 
mountains was gradual; and most painful was the im- 
pression made on my mind by the stony desolation 
around, unrelieved, save at intervals, by a few olive 



JAFFA. 



25 



trees,, which, it is well known, thrive all over Syria, 
growing in great splendour in respect both of size and 
quality of wood. The grounds owned by 'proprietors 
residing in various adjacent villages were enclosed by 
peculiar stone walls, which must have involved consi- 
derable labour in their erection. Our course was now 
straight for Jerusalem. We passed several fine herds, 
numbering from 300 to 400 each, of black goats; which 
are the only animals that can live in this part of Syria ; 
and indeed I am puzzled to know how even they managed 
to live at all. Within an hour's ride of our destination, a 
man rushed out from the roadside with an offer to supply us 
with either coffee or cognac ; upon our declining which 
baksheesh was demanded, with the addition of fearful 
compliments in Arabic bestowed on us for non-compliance. 
Putting spurs to our horses in anticipation of a tremen- 
dous thunder-storm which we saw coming up over the 
mountains, we shook our tormentor off; but we did 
not escape the storm, which burst in torrents of rain 
drenching us to the skin, while the claps of thunder 
reverberated grandly, this stony region reproducing and 
accentuating the crash of every successive peal. It 
was a startling scene, this contest of the elements. 
Nevertheless, we were glad to sight in the distance the 
last hill to be surmounted before gaining the top of the 
plain on which Jerusalem stands. 

On ascending the plateau, we came in view of the 
Hospice for pilgrims erected by the Eussian Government; 
in excavating for the foundations of which, discovery was 
made of an exquisitely carved granite pillar of the olden 



26 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



time. It is a magnificent pile, certainly the finest 
European edifice in the East, excepting Missionary 
Mott's house in Beyrout. It contains every possible 
accommodation for the individual pilgrim, whose stay is 
limited, I think, to a fortnight ; and it is maintained at 
the cost of the Russian Government. We made our 
entry into Jerusalem just as the sun was setting, and 
witnessed the closing of the Damascus gate. Thereat we 
knocked and kicked for a long time without succeeding 
in getting any response : but, when " baksheesh ! " was 
named, it was opened with magical celerity; and we 
were allowed to pass through on payment of two shillings 
per head. Our forlorn, wet condition, I do believe, 
moved the compassion of the soldiers who guarded the 
portals ; yet they did not omit to overhaul everything we 
had. 



CHAPTEB FV. 



JERUSALEM. 



Our first experience of Jerusalem was hardly satis- 
factory, by reason of the foul odours generated by the 
recent rains. In the street we were most politely 
accosted by a German Jew, or, as he professes to be, a 
Christian. My readers will easily understand, from this 
slight intimation, what he could do in the way of driving 
a bargain. He asked fifteen francs for bed and board 
per diem : but he readily consented to take eight ; and 
accordingly we went to "The Mediterranean" hotel, 
several bed-rooms in which smelt horribly. This hotel, 
which is situated on Mount Zion, is not to be compared 
with "The Damascus" at the other end, in point of 
salubrity. One of its appurtenances was a pool, full of 
dead cats and dogs; which sufficiently explained the 
mephitic exhalations in the bed-rooms. After brushing 



2S 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



up a bit> I was rejoiced to hear the announcement of 
dinner, at which I had the good fortune to enjoy the 
company of Miss ^Whitehead, and Mr. and Mrs. How, the 
most refined Americans I ever chanced to meet. They 
had travelled all over Europe, and were full of various 
and instructive conversation, which added not a little to 
the pleasure of my stay here. After dinner, about fifty 
dragomen charged at me, bearing in their hands vast 
packets of testimonials from English lords and ladies; 
who, I could not help thinking, might have set up for 
life many a score of their obscure fellow-countrymen at 
home, had they only condescended to favour them with 
similar flourishing documents. Next rushed in a number 
of Arabs with Syrian lamps, which they gratified them- 
selves by calling "antiques," but which it required no 
great penetration to see were made and baked in 1873 
instead of 500 B.C. These rascals are so used to being 
snubbed for these rank forgeries that they take your 
explosions of indignation thereat quite as matter of 
course, and merely bow and retire. These were suc- 
ceeded by an old widow who expatiated on the many 
virtues of Lord This and Lady That, who had bought of 
her cards of preserved flowers from Bethlehem and 
Nazareth. The nobles evidently were not destitute of 
taste. I observed, by the way, that you never hear a 
Syrian quote a plain Mr. or Mrs. To make any figure at 
all here, it was absolutely necessary to assume some 
titular decoration ; so my friend, Dr. Chapman, invariably 
addressed me as " Colonel," which added considerably to 
my comfort : and perhaps it may be as well for me to 



3-JEtIMA G E IN JEH U SALE 



JERUSALEM. 



29 



make a clean breast of it at once by assuring the reader 
that this was not the first occasion in life, on which I 
found it salutary to take brevet-rank among barbarians. 
Nor were vendors who professed to dispose of old coins 
wanting to the throng that waited on us at the hotel. 
Altogether we spent a very pleasant evening in the in- 
spection of gloriously new antiques ; after which exhausting 
diversion I was glad to get to bed. 

Eising early the next morning, I was supplied with a 
limited cup of coffee (everything, be it known, is meted 
out to you most miserably), and went forth on my first 
reconnoitre. I called upon Consul Moore, whom I found 
to be a highly agreeable man and — for a Levantine born 
—very affable to Englishmen ; perhaps, in that way, the 
best of the Consuls in Syria, though I have been assured 
of the painstaking and kindness of Mr. Greene at 
Damascus. In my progress I observed that I was widely 
stared at, and soon I was met with the salutation " Kha- 
beya Hadji " (great traveller !) . As soon as this was sung 
up Christian Street, Arabs pressed around me with all 
kinds of ware. Presently I heard a great shouting, and, 
to my intense amusement, there was an Irishman (or a 
reputed one, for I don't believe he was a Milesian) crawl- 
ing, barefooted, on his hands and knees through one of 
the, dirtiest highways in the East ; his wife walking 
before him, scattering shillings and sixpences among the 
delighted Arabs, who viewed the performance in a 
strictly practical light, merely remarking "Soine mad 
Englishman," and astonished at my vulgarity in roaring 
with laughter at the outrageous exhibition. The lady 



3° 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



was really pretty, and I hardly like to say she was with- 
out shoes : but the very Arabs pointed to her feet, 
exclaiming t€ Tayeb Jchatya ! " (How pretty !). I learned 
that this individual was executing this penance for some 
imaginary evil of which he was the author. Perhaps he 
really sought to get rid of the liver complaint. Anyhow 
he traversed a good distance — from the extreme end of 
Christian Street to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I 
encountered him at dinner in the evening, when he 
favoured the company, much to their annoyance, with an 
elaborate lecture, full of dreams he had had in England, 
the visions in which he had come out to realise here. 
Men of this class are attracted to the Holy Land ; and, if 
not sufficiently distracted for lunatic asylums, they may 
well be allowed to expend their singular enthusiasms out 
of the way of their friends. 

If you commit yourself to the charge of a dragoman, he 
will map out a tour round about Jerusalem necessitating 
the devotion thereto of several days. He will give you 
the minutest details of memorable places and events, and . 
is not unequal to the feat of indicating the exact spot 
where the Cock crew. Considering that he rates his 
charge at £2 a day, this historical and topographical par- 
ticularity may be resolved into anxiety to serve the selfish 
interests of Number One. 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is in the possession 
of the Greek and Latin Churches, a separate recess being 
granted to the Copts. It was with extreme difficulty that 
I was able to get a peep into the interior of the Greek 
chapel; which is gorgeous with profuse ornament, where 



JERUSALEM. 



3i 



I saw a priest, in some act of devotion, holding in his 
hand a magnificent jewelled napkin, radiant with dia- 
monds, emeralds and rubies. The Greek establishment 
is very wealthy, being enriched by the continuous 
streams of Eussian pilgrims — men, women, and children 
— whose sole object in life appears to be to kiss the 
Sepulchre, after which they are content to return home. 
These you may see being conducted round the town 
by Greek priests, who take especial good care that 
they do not fall into the clutches of the mercenary 
dragomen, who are the most abandoned gamblers in 
the world. The show-money, it- was a comfort to 
think, went to the support of some better cause than 
the gratification of the consuming passion for gambling 
of these men. The pilgrims frequently make gifts of 
their old family jewels, which they dedicate to the Holy 
Shrine. 

From the Greeks we turned to the Latins. The 
priests certainly struck me as not being of a high order, 
anything like parallel to their brethren in the Protestant 
church. A priest came forward to meet us, and presented 
us with tapers ; after which service he sat himself in a 
recess, where he began fumbling with a plate, previous 
deposits in which were carefully concealed by a napkin. 
Through a crevice we were shown a bit of the Eock of 
Calvary, concealed by the buildings in which it is em- 
bedded. It was all so dark, and the subdued light shed 
by the burning candles combined with the fumes of 
incense to give such dim relief to the religious gloom, 
that it induced a feeling of melancholy. My American 



32 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



companion, however, was far from being similarly- 
affected, for lie besought me to " Come out of it ; pray 
don't look at all this Barnum." He not only had no 
sentiment himself, but could not tolerate indulgence in 
it by others. Undeterred by his reproaches, I continued 
taking a turn or two, taper in hand, and was rewarded 
for my industry by seeing a most beautiful painting of 
Our Saviour, which I have no hesitation in saying has 
the loveliest expression of face I ever saw in any repre- 
sentation of Him. From its retired position I fear it 
escapes the observation of travellers generally. Here 
was a figure of the Virgin, coated with jewels ; of which 
the display was so tempting that I wondered the Turkish 
guards (who ever and anon pestered us for baksheesh) 
did not, with their innate love of jewellery, quietly re- 
move the glass and walk off with the whole lot. It 
would be instructive could we learn what these Turks 
think of the frequent disputes that arise between the 
Greek and Latin Christians, — and all in the name of the 
Lord, — and which they, by a finely ironical arrangement 
of things, are empowered to stop. On gala days two 
hundred of them are on duty, with arms piled outside 
ready for use, as in a barrack-yard. On a recent 
occasion, when a rupture took place and Greeks and 
Latins illustrated the gospel of peace and good-will in 
their strange (Christian !) fashion, the Turkish soldiers, 
laughing at the spectacle, thrashed the combatants all 
round with great impartiality until the controversy was 
settled. Their task of keeping order between the rival 
sects is by no means a light one ; and absolute neutrality 



JERUSALEM. 



33 



can be secured only by this rough-and-ready mode of 
administering justice. 

I next visited the yard of the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, where most beautiful mother-of-pearl orna- 
ments, engraved by Arab workmen (who are very 
imitative), are on sale. And I did not forget to inspect 
Shapeira's famous collection, numbering 1000 pieces, of 
clay " antiques," not the least remarkable part of which 
was devoted to representation of the Abomination of 
Moab. This collection has since been sold, I learn, to 
the Crown Prince of Prussia as genuine examples of 
Moabite pottery, for the sum of £2000. It consisted not 
only of vessels and fragments of the same, but also of 
figures of men, women, and the lower animals, some of 
which had their backs covered with inscriptions * I have 
never yet seen, or heard of, anything but fragments of 
ancient Moabite pottery ; and I therefore can only express 
my admiration of the singular good fortune which had 
evidently attended the explorations of the proprietor of 
this vast collection. By way of promoting the taste for 
Moabite art, I take this opportunity to inform my readers 
that a second collection, not inferior to the last in respect 
of number and decency, awaits the munificent patronage of 
people of exalted rank. I was indeed much amused at 
Shapeira's capacity for supplying all classes of travellers 
with " antiques ; " — Englishmen in pursuit of scientific 

* I was most anxious to secure copies of these inscriptions for the 
use of that learned Hebrew scholar, Eev. Dunbar Heath, of E slier : 
but they were so mystified that he has been unable to make anything 
of them. 

D 



34 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



objects, as well as those who gratify the ordinary rage 
for travel ; with flowers for romantic ladies, and prayer- 
books for pious Americans. 

One of his domestic arrangements was not ill calculated 
to inflame the imagination of intending purchasers of 
these valuable "finds." The so-called Princess of Moab 
was reported to be staying with him; and Bedouin 
sheikhs might be observed about his place, with their 
grand Arab steeds. Startling information was always 
being had of the discovery of some most precious relic 
which was about to be brought in by an Arab sheikh. 
Credat Judceus ! My scepticism may be most unreason- 
able ; but I gravely incline to suspect that a brisk trade 
is carried on in Damascus in the way of manufacturing 
and baking ce antique " pottery. Now and then curious 
coins and old bronzes are, I know, picked up : but it 
stands to reason that such an enormous number of antiques 
cannot possibly exist. Why, if due encouragement 
were offered, enough would be forthcoming to fill a 
repository as capacious as the recently destroyed Pan- 
technicon. 

I was fortunate in being favoured with a letter of intro- 
duction to Dr. Chapman here, who was very kind to me 
during the whole of my sojourn in Jerusalem. He has 
the reputation in London of being the first scientific 
man in Syria. 

Under Cook's guidance there arrived, during my stay, 
a party of Mormons, eager to look upon the valley of the 
Jordan: but they did not receive much consideration; 
in fact, great surprise was manifested at Cook's introduc- 



JER USALEM. 



35 



tion of Mormons into this region.* By the way, this 
system of touring is a terrible cut down to the dragomen, 
whom it deprives of their hurtful monopoly. "What the 
tourists can expect to see within the time allotted for 
"doing" a place, however, I cannot make out. 

The Bishop of Jerusalem being a German, his selections 
of clergy are mostly German. He has a son-in-law at 
Nazareth of the same nationality, who struck me as being 
about the most cantankerous man I ever met. The pre- 
sentation to the See of Jerusalem is made alternately by 
England and Germany ; yet they betray exceeding 
jealousy of us, though they are not slow to take our con- 
tributions to their support. There is a nice little church 
here, at every service in which travellers are called upon 
to subscribe towards the maintenance of "the good 
cause. ' ; 

The industry of Jerusalem seems to be confined to one 
line of manufacture — ornamental work in olive-wood, 
which is very pretty indeed \ and I witnessed the arrival 
of only one vegetable — brocoli, the largest ever seen by 
me anywhere. The Arab will make a meal of this 
vegetable without anything else to eke it out. The 
weather was very cold, and firing difficult to get. Small 
bundles of wood are brought in by the Arabs at the 
charge of two francs each. The hotels, therefore, are 

* The khimekar at Damascus protested against their presence 
and they themselves seemed to think there was some danger in re- 
maining in a country where their nationality was not recognised, for 
they thus became amenable to the laws of Turkey, and liable, at the 
will of Bey or other official, to be bastinadoed. 

D 2 



36 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



very uncomfortable. In the evening I occasionally saw 
large flocks of small Syrian owls on the walls of Jeru- 
salem. I must not forget to add that the water supplied 
for drinking here was shocking, and most apt to produce 
diarrhoea. 

A short trip to the Jordan was made in the society of 
some most remarkable Americans, whom a Boston gentle- 
man (who was of the party) characterised as "perfect 
blowers; " — which they certainly were. They were most 
loquacious, with judgments on men and things ready for 
delivery at a moment's notice, and professed to be great 
linguists; by virtue of which accomplishment they af- 
fected to look down upon me as quite a bore, for speak- 
ing only English, though they afterwards found me veiy 
useful in having language enough to persuade a lady to 
abandon her idea of baptism for the third time in her 
life. 

In the East the start is the difficult part of the journey. 
Good horses were provided for us, and all that we could 
expect was in our favour ; yet we lost an hour through 
the absurd fussiness of the (American) ladies of our party, 
who protested (among other things) that their saddles 
were either too tight or too loose. After a prolonged 
wrangle among them, we reached Jericho, where we 
stopped for the night, and where we were assailed by 
three Bedouin sheikhs who rode about us frantically de- 
manding baksheesh. They know full well that they are 
sure to obtain this black-mail where women are con- 
cerned, if only for the sake of peace and quietness; and, 
in this case, their apparition powerfully affected the 



JER US ALE M. 



37 



nerves of the men who so gallantly escorted the ladies. 
Several of them were rich; obese bacon-merchants from 
Xew York ; whose shoppy talk did not contribute to make 
our association very enjoyable. 

The accommodation at Jericho was very bad : but 
American travellers, being locomotives; never complain. 
On getting to the Jordan, we saw lots of pilgrims who, 
on their first view of the river, dashed in like so many 
cattle stung by gadflies; one or two of them, indeed, 
narrowly escaped drowning. And here occurred the 
incident to which I have alluded above, when I was 
found to be of some use to my companions. 

An American lady, enjoying an income of many 
thousand dollars a year and therefore equal to such a 
luxurious privilege as triple immersion in the Jordan, was 
impressed by her spiritual adviser in New York with the 
sublime virtue of baptism in the river for the third time. 
Attended by the divine, whose person did not betray the 
usual results of orthodox ecclesiastical fare on the system, 
she started to execute the cherished project. Between 
Alexandria and Jaffa they seem to have got into hot 
controversy on various religious topics ; and, by the time 
they arrived at Jerusalem, an open rupture had taken 
place. Still the lady was not left destitute of the 
reverend "help " she required, for she soon was introduced 
to the notice of an English clergyman here; who; not unob 
servant of the pyramids of diamonds on her fingers 
placed his services at her disposal; and; accompanying us 
for the purpose; with due solemnity christened her Mary 
in the Jordan. Such was her state of mental bliss after 



38 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



the ceremony that she could not be induced to quit the 
seat on the bank of the river, on which she had deposited 
herself in a transport of religious enthusiasm. Nothing 
apparently could persuade her to leave the place. There 
she sat, deaf to the entreaties of her friends. As time 
wore on, our anxiety to get back to Jericho before night- 
fall was increased, and a council of war was held, when 
they did me the honour to consult me. I at once engaged 
to move her for four shillings, which they eagerly pro- 
fessed their willingness to increase to twenty, if I so 
desired. I had just seen in the distance a troop of 
Bedouin horsemen, whom I, unobserved by the enthusiast, 
hired to come down to our party, brandishing their spears 
in the approved theatrical fashion, and to threaten the 
recalcitrant lady that, as they were rather short of 
women, they would carry her off, if she any longer re- 
fused to mount her horse. This she did with great 
alacrity. The prospect of forming part of a Bedouin 
household soon brought her to her senses ; and I received 
the thanks of her friends for my presence of mind in 
utilising the Bedouin horsemen as I did. I was after- 
wards told that she bestowed handsome baksheesh on the 
baptising clergyman, besides stripping one of her heavily 
laden fingers of its costly jewels. 

Returning to Jerusalem by way of Jericho (when I was 
thoroughly fatigued by the Turkish saddle I rode in), I 
took up my quarters again at the " Mediterranean Hotel/' 
where I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. John Andrews, 
an eminently agreeable and companionable gentleman, 
an old Norwegian traveller, well known as an ardent 



BETHLEHEM. 



39 



disciple of Izaak Walton. In his pleasant and instructive 
company, I naturalised the region about Jerusalem. We 
found some fine land-shells and a few varieties of the 
butterfly. The common European peacock butterfly 
reigns here, but, owing to the climate, of a much brighter 
colour. We saw two or three gazelles \ which are rarely 
visible, and are very shy of observation from the sharp 
look-out for them kept by the Turkish soldiers. 

In execution of my resolution to visit Bethlehem and 
Solomon's Pool, I started next morning at 9. After a 
most enjoyable ride of three hours and a half, during 
which were often had views of the Dead Sea backed by 
the mountains of Moab, — highly panoramic in effect, — 
our approach to Bethlehem was signalised by the ap- 
pearance of Syrian women wearing coin head-dresses (the 
first I had as yet seen worn in the country), who invited 
purchase of rosaries composed of berries and pearls. It 
was no easy matter to make way through the crowd of 
little boys, who had evidently been despatched thither 
from Jerusalem to secure what baksheesh they could from 
travellers ; and, after surmounting that difficulty, we soon 
arrived at the Convent, the general untidiness of which 
may be guessed from the fact of a large herd of pigs, the 
common property of the Greek and Latin priests, being 
maintained in front of it. [This was my first sight of 
pigs in Syria.] After long knocking at the door of the 
Convent, we were received by a Latin priest, who inti- 
mated that we had just missed seeing a Eussian prince, 
who had lodged there for the night. Shown into a large, 



40 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



long hall adorned with three portraits, — the Emperor and 
the Empress of Austria, with the Pope in the middle, — 

we were asked to partake of refreshment; whereupon 
was set before us the usual Italian food consisting of 
macaroni and chicken. The priest then proceeded to 
conduct us to the Birthplace of Our Saviour. We went 
through various corridors, on either side of which were 
some wonderful pictures, which (the priest informed us) 
had forcibly struck Holman Hunt, and which he had 
highly praised ; and we were shewn the exact spot where 
stood the Manger. A most thrilling feeling of awe comes 
over one in view of the spot associated with so stupendous 
a memory. The sense of something utterly extraordinary 
subdues the soul to supreme humility. 

Thence we went to inspect the establishments, four in 
number, for the manufacture of pearl ornaments by Syrian 
workmen; and well may Captain Richard Burton say 
that these people are the most highly gifted in the world. 
Many of the natives of Bethlehem are handsome, the men 
equally with the women ; and the remark will be better 
understood when I add that there are only two classes in 
Syria — without any intermediate grade — the very ugly 
and the very handsome. 

Mounting our horses for Solomon's Pool, we made for 
the house of one who, having put himself under English 
protection, assumed to himself the title of Englishman. 
He is the proprietor of large gardens, which produce 
excellent fruit for the consumption of Jerusalem; and 
great credit is due to him for his energy in conducting 



SOLOMON'S POOL. 



4i 



water from Solomon's Pool to irrigate his grounds. He 
spoke of Holman Hunt in familiar terms. 

Solomon's Pool is situated in a very rocky country, and 
highly interesting to view ; — a huge water-tank, amply 
supplied with water and in good preservation. Hence we 
made a circuit, which yielded a very pleasant ride, for 
the purpose of paying a visit to the Austrian Consul, who 
speaks English admirably. We were kindly received by 
this gentleman, who lives the life of a hermit, surrounded 
by twenty dogs., perfect mongrels (true types of Eastern 
canine life), who had sought sanctuary with him from 
Jerusalem. His whole time is devoted to the care of the 
animal world, protection of the interests of Austrian 
subjects requiring but a fraction of his attention ; for 
Austrians here are treated with the profoundest respect. 
After partaking of coffee with this benevolent gentleman, 
we took our leave, and got back to Jerusalem in time for 
dinner ; and after dinner we made a visit to the Greek 
Hospital, on which I would exhaust criticism by observing 
that it is perfection itself. 



CHAPTER Y. 



GAZA. — KHAN YUNUS.— WADY AEISH.— TAFLUGAY. — 
BEIT JEBRIN. — HEBRON. — JEBEL USDUM. 

And now I began to think it was time for me to set 
out on more extensive travel ; and, while revolving my 
plan of operations, I had the good fortune of being intro- 
duced by the English Consul, Mr. Moore, to Mr. W. D. 
Pritchett, who agreed to travel with me through the land ot 
Moab. After sundry conferences on the subject, at the 
Prussian Hospice of the Order of the Knights of St. 
John, we decided to start without loss of time, directing 
our course to Gaza and so on to Wady Aj?ish, which is the 
toll-taking entrance to Egypt. Accordingly we left 
Jerusalem at 10 a.m. on the 27th February, 1873. 

Our good friends whom we left behind us at Jerusalem 
expressed considerable anxiety as to our undertaking so 
perilous a journey, and they recalled the fate of one or 



GAZA. 



43 



two adventurers like ourselves (whose names have not 
come up), who set out similarly and never returned. We 
were not to be stayed, however ; and we had resolved to 
rely strictly on our own resources. Thus, when we 
effected a start, we were altogether alone ; without either 
arms or servants; our only guide being a map and a 
pocket compass ; and a pound of tea representing the 
extent of our provisions. Nothing indeed could be 
simpler than our equipment, the saddle bags containing 
only a change of clothes, together with a small supply of 
medical comforts ; and the total amount of cash with 
which we proposed to solve the difficulties of our way was 
about £20 in Turkish coin. 

After a five hours' ride on that stony desolation, which 
extends over nearly eighteen miles of country offering 
little comfort for either mind or feet, we arrived at Bal 
Wady, the Gate of the Valley ; when we were saluted 
from the housetop by the Jew landlord, who said he had 
a spacious saloon for our accommodation, wherein we 
should find plenty of food and no fleas : — in both which 
respects our confidence was grossly abused ; and his 
capacity for fleecing the traveller may be estimated from 
the fact that, while he held us in conversation with all 
sorts of atrocious stuff, he coolly sent an Arab round to 
rob our horses of their barley, which he would readily sell 
to Russian pilgrims, for their mules, on their return 
journey to Jaffa en route to Russia. A damp bed, en- 
livened by numerous fleas, gave me no rest ; and, when I 
arose in the morning*, my whole body testified to the 
activity of the fleas : I looked as if I had the small-pox. 



44 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



On my remonstrating with him, and inquiring why he did 
not keep a better hotel, which assuredly would be found 
more profitable, he piously replied : " God has given the 
day, and He will give the food." He asked me if I knew 
Sir Joseph Montefiore, and on my answering that, al- 
though I had not that pleasure, his fame was not unknown 
to me, he pronounced Sir Joseph to be "very good;" 
and he was honest enough, though it may be unwittingly, 
to impart to me his test of moral worth in the supple- 
mentary statement — " he gave me money ; " which 
elicited from me the natural observation that Sir Joseph 
ivas rather a useful sort of fellow to know. The food 
which he supplied us with was a curiously mixed diet, 
consisting as it did of small Syrian eggs, sour milk, and 
poor olives. The olives luckily inflamed our appetite for 
the sorry fare set before us. 

At sunrise the next morning we started for a ride of 
fifty-five miles to Gaza. On leaving the inn in a S. W. 
direction, we took road to Castenne, first passing through 
the Valley of Sharon. Every hour the land, as we ad- 
vanced, became more fertile, and I was charmed with the 
plains of corn. The sheep, too, abounded around us, in 
excellent condition and with fair fleece, though the wool 
was not of close texture, being rather long. Good crops 
of wheat also abounded. What renders this most remark- 
able is the fact that they never manure the corn land ; 
tobacco being the only production to which they apply 
manure. The whole road to Castenne was a hard ride of 
six hours, the valley being occupied, without intermission, 
with long stretches of wheat and barley ; and we just 



GAZA. 



45 



caught sight of a Syrian bear, who beat a hasty retreat. 
Arriving at Castenne at midday, we betook ourselves at 
once to the venerable Arab sheikh of the place, of whom 
we invited the favour of " lebbin," the sour ruilk which 
is found to be so supporting in this climate. He was far 
from civil ; indeed, he looked as sour as the milk he dis- 
pensed, and it was easy to see that he desired to get rid 
of us without any delay. This small settlement was of 
Arab construction, the houses being square-built after the 
manner of boxes, and consisting simply of one room, with 
the bare earth for floor, and the outer court for the recep- 
tion of donkeys, goats and fowls. The Arab, of course, 
never thinks of going out of doors except on donkey's 
back ; and in these rural villages there is no thought of 
using either saddle or bridle, a stick serving for all guber- 
natorial purposes. The whole place was marked by 
evident signs of dirt and discomfort. For example, the 
spring which supplies water for domestic drinking is used 
for purposes of washing by the whole village, and the 
cattle also quench their thirst therein. The washing I 
allude to does not apply to the faces of the inhabitants : 
but I will not be ungenerous enough to deny that I saw 
several young men enjoying the luxury of cooling their 
feet in the stream. Ophthalmia seemed to be very pre- 
valent \ fifty out of every hundred, I may safely say, being 
afflicted either in one eye or in both. Dirt they evidently 
take a delight in, and they explain away their obvious 
reluctance to wash themselves by their superstitious hor- 
ror of encountering the evil eye. The disease, it is easy 
to see, is carried by the flies from one to another's eyes. 



4 6 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



In Egypt and Syria the malady reaches painful extremes, 
and for the first day or two is most distressing to the 
patients. 

As we progressed, we continued to pass good crops of 
barley coming to ear, and the climate became sensibly 
warmer and warmer. At a village we went by we asked 
for a drink of milk and were refused. They desired us, 
however, to get off our horses, signifying their willing- 
ness to bake bread for us ; — a proposition we declined 
with thanks. They were a poor, starved-looking people, 
dressed in the coarsest of clothing ; and I was struck 
with the very limited quantity of food on which they 
subsisted. Eice is their staple food, with boiled wheat 
intermixed. Up to this time, be it remembered, we were 
without breakfast ; and we looked with vision stimulated 
and sharpened by hunger for the prospect of Gaza. We 
had hoped to catch a glimpse of it before sundown ; but 
alas ! we could see nothing of it, and we became appre- 
hensive of losing our way in the course of the next hour. 
"Within a short time, however, we came upon some 
curious ruins introductory to Gaza ; and as the sun went 
down three jackals began to raise their voices, imparting 
quite a saddening effect to the whole scene, and the owls, 
like flocks of rooks, to make up their minds for night- 
work : and I gradually realised the fearful loneliness of 
this singularly sorrowful country. At length we arrived 
at Gaza at 8^ p.m., and we threaded several queer streets 
before we reached the residence of Mr. Nimmo, an 
Englishman in the service of the Viceroy of Egypt, who 
has lived here for a period of eight years. His domestic 



GAZA. 



47 



establishment is, far and away, the best in the place ; and 
we received a hearty welcome from him : but the edifice 
is not a little curious in its construction. Our entry was 
effected through the stables, which conducted to the 
flower-garden, on either side of which were ranged the 
bed-rooms and the sitting-rooms, and the apartment 
reserved for guests to drink their coffee in. Right glad 
were we of the rest and of the refreshment provided for 
us. 

There is a good Bazaar here, and a large trade is done 
in corn. I was lucky enough to discover an ancient 
Samaritan mural inscription, of which I did not fail to 
obtain a " squeeze." This may be seen suspended in the 
Museum of the Palestine Exploration Fund at the Egyp- 
tian Hall in Piccadilly. Olives here, as elsewhere around, 
form an important item of commerce ; and my ride through 
the olive groves, which took about an hour and a half, 
was a very pleasant one. Once a week the Bedouins 
bring in large numbers of sheep, poultry, and camels for 
sale ; and I think I may venture to say this is the only 
town in Syria where they have perfect confidence in the 
public transaction of business. Our generous host, Mr. 
Nimmo, has established friendly relations with the 
Bedouin sheikhs, some of whom had excellent horses. I 
was anxious to obtain one of the curious. Syrian head- 
dresses, and was not unwilling to give a fair price for 
one ; but, when I found that its value was to be deter- 
mined at so much per ounce, I abandoned all notion of 
the purchase. 



4 8 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



An English school for Moslem boys has recently been 
opened in Gaza. 

Our next stage was Khan Yunus, where we had to get 
a supply of barley for our horses, as it was represented to 
us by the Arabs that we could not depend upon getting 
it at our resting-place at night. The inhabitants were 
most audacious thieves, and did not hesitate to attack my 
companion, who found it no easy matter to force his way 
through them without injury to himself. Standing in my 
saddle, I charged at them with my stick, and effected his 
release. Thieves notoriously abound here, and we were 
glad to get off safe from the town. Just as we were 
quitting it, I observed a young rascal dexterously take 
my companion's handkerchief out of his pocket and speed 
away with it. I immediately set my horse at full gallop 
after him and compelled him to return it. This produced 
a great effect on the numerous spectators, who saw we 
were not afraid of them. After a ride of six hours, we 
came up to the hut of a native beside the Mussulman 
Burial-ground, and not far from the verge of the Desert. 
Our reception by the proprietor of this hut was not 
marked by an excess of civility, for on asking to be ac- 
commodated for the night he most unceremoniously said 
No ; which he afterwards explained by saying it was the 
locale of his harem — a statement confirmed by the pre- 
sence of six women whom I espied about the place. My 
companion appealed to him to water our horses, which he 
was readily moved to do ; and he then taxed his hospi- 
tality to the extent of spreading a praying-carpet out for 



WADY ARISH. 



49 



us in his goat-yard ; after which he was heard to caution 
the ladies against me, whose looks, I was mortified to 
learn, he did not like at all. Nor were they long in pro- 
viding against a surprise, for they forthwith began barri- 
cading the door, talking audibly the while and peeping 
suspiciously through the crevices. He served us with 
rice and water, before withdrawing to the ladies for the 
night ; and we were glad to lay our weary limbs down on 
the ample rug sub Jove. 

When we awoke in the morning, our eyes were greeted 
with nothing but camel caravans, and vast sand moun- 
tains^ which, increasing yearly, spread far into the 
interior of the land. The scene was relieved, a little 
further on, by small herbage and a few Bedouin tents. 

Our next point was Wady Aeish, where they exact a toll 
of four shillings for every head of sheep, and of eight 
shillings for every head of cattle, customs due to 
the Viceroy. They were most particular here. We 
were not allowed to stay in the town, but a tent was 
pitched for us a mile without it, to which was given the 
name of the Cholera Morbus tent. This uninviting 
title, however, did not hinder us from doing justice to 
the good dinner provided for us — boiled chicken and 
goat's flesh. We were informed that we should not be 
allowed to continue here beyond the night, and a guard 
of soldiers was set over us. The fleas signalised them- 
selves again on my body, but I was too tired to heed their 
activity. 

Starting at sunrise, we soon fell in with a party of 

£ 



So 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



Bedouin Arabs, who were most civil, giving us both, 
lebbin and wild honey under the generous prompting 
of the Sitt, — the lady of the sheikh. They had some good 
horses with them, and the quality of their oxen and 
sheep was very fine. Our way now lay through tribe after 
tribe, from whom we got kindly entertainment, though 
the life to us was very hard. The country hereabouts 
evidenced signs of great fertility; indeed, all the plains 
of Philistia were fertile till within three hours of Hebron ; 
and the barley was notably good. Every inch of soil 
around was under cultivation with either wheat or barley, 
for two whole days' journey. 

At the village of Taflugay we had a notion of the 
mode of life of the town Arabs, having to make our way 
to the guest chamber of a sheikh, who had kindly invited 
us to coffee and pipes, between two vast heaps of animal 
manure. (They suffer these to accumulate for years until 
they get into mountains.) Within were seated two 
Turkish soldiers besides our host, a very handsome 
young man of thirty, and very good-natured to boot. A 
deputation of old sheikhs of the village soon arrived to pay 
their respects. They were fine specimens of the Syrians, 
and it was easy to see that the fertility of the region 
in corn and cattle enabled all to live well. Two rich 
carpets were brought out for our use, and we enjoyed a 
meal of boiled mutton. 

Pursuing our course onwards, we next reached Beit 
Jebein, an old Crusading station, which possesses a 
venerable church, and an ancient well, around which are 



HEBRON. 



ranged several beautiful marble pillars, and at which we 
saw the village maidens fill their water-jars. Beit Jebrin 
is one of the filthiest villages I encountered in the East. 
It is full of embankments of manure, which may be said 
to be characteristic of all the Arab mud villages ; and it 
is not surprising to ascertain that the health of the in- 
habitants, whom I observed placidly smoking and talking 
midst all this aggregation of filth, is not to be compared 
with that of the freer life in the tents of the Bedouins. 
Hence we had a long ride to Hebron ; within two hours 
of arriving at which the stony road was very trying, and 
we had a further difficulty in finding our way. Occasion- 
ally we passed patches of vineyard enclosed with stone 
walls. 

We got to Hebeon before sundown, and betook our- 
selves without delay to Sheikh Omsay, the authorised 
agent of the Bedouin sheikhs, as well as the representative 
of another powerful chief, Abba di Hook, of whom we 
shall hear more presently.* I must record here that, 
when a man among the Bedouins has a son born to him, 
he no longer bears his own name ; but he is called the 
father of that son : and the son acquires supreme impor- 
tance in his family circle. And my long and intimate 
familiarity with Bedouin modes of life warrants me in 
testifying to the admiring homage paid to youth by these 
people. Nor do they forget to hold grey hairs in great 
veneration. 

* This is a curious fact, that a town Arab should be appointed 
agent to the Bedouin. 

E 2 



5* 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



When a Bedouin chief leaves his tent, he kisses his 
boy, and, unless he requires to use her, takes an affection- 
ate farewell of his favourite mare ; which always has her 
quarters in the sheikh's tent, and is reckoned of far higher 
importance than the wife, as the lady only too well 
knows. The pedigrees of these mares are incredibly far- 
reaching. The foal of the favourite mare has the first 
milk from the goats in the morning, being allowed to 
drink its fill of it, and accompanies its parent, when 
used by its owner, at a furious pace. I once told an 
Arab sheikh this pace would frighten an English horse- 
breeder. " Ah ! " said he, " this is the way to train 
theni." Their pace indeed is stupendous. One sheikh 
had a peculiar breed of chestnuts, of perfect beauty, 
whose performances eclipsed anything I ever witnessed 
at Astley's. But to return to Hebron. 

Our negotiations with Omsay were by no means of an 
easy character. He was blessed with a most avaricious 
son, who had two wives not considered particularly 
honest ; and their several claims upon travellers had, I 
suppose, to be adjusted. Anyhow it took him nearly 
three whole days to settle the terms on which we could 
secure passage through a most powerful tribe. It would 
be utterly impossible to traverse the region without a 
safe-conduct first had and obtained from this sheikh, who 
exercises sovereign sway. The honey here is famous for 
its excellence, and that with Arab bread and good milk 
was our enjoyable fare. 

We visited the reputed tomb of Abraham, the interior 
of which has been open to the inspection of no traveller 



WADY KURNAL. 



53 



save H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. Glass armlets and 
other ornaments of local manufacture are to be cheaply 
purchased here. 

Our departure in the morning was not unattended with 
difficulty. For the forty-eighth time we had a dispute 
about the sum we were to pay for ensuring our safety 
through the land of Moab ; and we were thankful to be 
liberated from this unspeakably wearisome contest. 

Eiding southward through Wady Kurnal for seven 
hours, during which little of interest was observable, we 
came up to the tent of Sheikh Ali, the head of a powerful 
tribe of Jehalin Arabs. He was twenty years of age, a 
very handsome man, — fair, with lustrous eyes and beautiful 
hands, such as are to be noted among Bedouins of high 
descent \ whose majestic gait and elegant manners were 
most striking; in addition to which he had an attractive 
voice. He immediately directed a supply of coffee, which 
was served on an ornamental tray covered with a varie- 
gated silk napkin with heavy gold fringe — a special 
token of consideration. Sheikh Omsay was not long after 
us, and in our behalf he had audience of Ali, who, 
stroking my beard, engaged to do everything for us, and 
had his spear forthwith fixed before his tent, to denote 
that he had visitors to whom he desired to accord every 
respect. So well pleased was he with the honour of our 
visit to him that he said he would himself escort us to 
the S. E. end of the Dead Sea. We spent the day with 
him, during which time he showed me his horses and 
several remarkable individuals of his tribe, and I saw* the 



54 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG, 



preparation for the morrow. For supper we had boiled 
gazelle, mutton, and chicken. After the repast a one- 
stringed Asiatic harp was introduced, which our courteous 
host played and sang to. I have before referred to his 
pleasant voice. That he now exerted, for our behoof, 
without intermission for the space of three hours, clearly 
resolved to err on the side of excess in the musical 
entertainment ; which did not terminate even with the 
host's retirement for the night, for the instrument was 
taken up by two other Arabs, guests like ourselves, who 
played alternately on it till daylight did appear. What- 
ever we might have thought of this formidably prolonged 
music, it was interesting to watch the faces of about a 
hundred sheikhs and other men of distinction as they sat 
listening to our host ; whose voice, giving expression now 
to tender sentiment and then to martial fervour, obviously 
found a response in their breasts. 

We were up betimes next morning, when our host, who 
had armed himself with a magnificent spear and was 
arrayed in a most beautiful embroidered robe, put himself 
at the head of his uncle Sheikh Esau and a select band of 
men-at-arms for this most perilous journey. The start 
looked bright and cheerful : but soon we were assailed by 
a weary waste., bare of all vegetation save the peculiar 
low shrub with thorns, which is the sustenance of the 
goats and camels, and is also used for firing ; — not a bird 
visible ; not a sign of life of any kind : and through the 
divisions of the mountains we got occasional glimpses of 
the Dead Sea, whose stillness intensified the sense of 
desolation impressed on us by the lifeless scene, especially 



WADY ZUWEIREH. 



55 



as we neared the Wady Zuweieeh, which conducts to the 
shore of the Dead Sea. The entrance to this pass was 
dangerously precipitous, so much so that I feared my 
horse, which was a young animal, would not be equal to 
the arduous work of ascending and descending these 
ravines. I was fain, therefore, closely to follow Sheikh 
Ali who preceded us leading his sure-footed mare. While 
we were engaged thus, our attention engrossed with the 
difficulties of the way, we were startled by the sudden 
appearance, from behind the rocks, of thirty nearly naked 
Arabs, who most menacingly levelled their long guns at 
us. Their heads sprang up simultaneously, as it were in 
a pantomime ; and I had a gun pointed at me in unplea- 
sant proximity to my ear. Had they been so minded, 
they might easily have despatched all of us, situated as 
we were, and protected as they were by fche rugged 
character of their position. But after a short parley 
Sheikh Ali set matters straight, and we had the oppor- 
tunity of observing these Arabs more closely. They 
were nearly black, and had only a cloth round the loins. 
They were most active in their movements, and in every 
way looked as if their life was a hard one, as it truly must 
be in this oppressively solitary place. I was lost in won- 
der as to how the tribe subsisted, and learned that they 
hunt the gazelle and kill the Syrian partridge, which is 
most delicious eating. It is a handsome likeness of the 
French partridge, and ordinarily very plump. The ga- 
zelle of the district is most venisony in flavour, and a 
carefully roasted haunch would well merit the praise 



56 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



reserved by Sydney Smith for the salad prepared accord- 
ing to the witty canon's famous receipt : — 

" Serenely full, the epicure would say, 
Fate cannot harm ; I have dined to-day." 

In spite of the scanty food, the venison is very fat, which 
may be explained by the salt formation of the rocks, to 
which the gazelles are known to be fond of applying 
their tongues. These slight gastronomic particulars, 
however, must not make me forget to relate that our 
Arab bandits, after kindly supplying us with water, 
finally patted us on the back, and suffered us to proceed 
without further molestation. 

On a mound in this Wady are the ruins of a grim-look- 
ing old Crusader castle, difficult of ascent ; and below it 
is a cave which I entered in the vain hope of finding 
something of interest. 

We had by this time descended into the valley, which 
I can liken only to the dry bed of a torrent, where all 
of vegetation that met the eye was a few acacias in full 
growth and one or two wild fig-trees ; and we kept on 
winding our way till we got to the shore of the Dead Sea. 
As we neared it, the heat became intense. It was about 
three in the afternoon, and the sea was as unruffled as a 
mill-pond. I know not how to describe its unnatural 
aspect. It gave me the impression of a great mass of 
vagueness — this absence of life in it. The shore was 
strewn with endless stout branches of trees, stripped of 
their bark, and bleached to pure white. So large was the 
supply that, remembering the scarcity of wood in Jerusa- 



JEBEL USDUM. 



57 



lem, I remarked that it would be a most profitable specu- 
lation to charter camels for its transport thither. 

After visiting Jebel Usdum, the singular mountain of 
salt,* which bewildered me with its quaint crystal 
appearance, we rode on towards the Southern end of the 
Dead Sea, a distance of six miles. The Dead Sea, I may- 
set down, is fifty miles long, and at certain points is said 
to be six miles wide. Then, striking out due East, we 
crossed the plain, and reached the dense forest watered 
by streams descending from the mountains of Moab. 
The thorny acacia growth sorely impeded our progress, 
and, the sun having set, swarms of mosquitoes assailed 
us. The prospect of finding a retreat for the night I 
began to regard as hopeless ; but Sheikh Ali, to whose 
surpassing qualifications as a guide I was not duly alive, 
imparted animation to the whole company by suddenly 
throwing his head-dress into the air, and arresting it at 
the top of his spear. He had caught the faint echoes 
of the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep, telling 
of an encampment near. These presently burst upon my 
less acute ears \ soon we heard the barking of dogs ; and 
wreaths of smoke curling upwards further determined 
our propinquity to it. It consisted of about two hundred 
tents, — a strong muster of Gwharanees, whose chief, a 
friend of Sheikh Ali's, came out to meet us with every 
evidence of cordiality, and, having helped us to dismount, 

* I was careful to bring away a bit of it, which I have presented 
to my friend, Mr. F. GL H. Price, of 1, Fleet Street. 



5S 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



caused carpets to be laid for Ali, my companion and self; 
after which the usual introductory hospitality of coffee — 
which here was delicious — was dispensed. Shortly after, 
a large bowl of mutton was introduced ; and. by way of 
signifying particular politeness, the sheikh carefully se- 
lected a piece of lean and another of fat and set my 
portion before me. The encampment was a very rich one, 
and was well provided with horses and goats, and sheep 
and cattle. The tribe descended into the warm valley 
for the winter, and emerged into the high level of Moab 
in the summer. 

An Arab merchant from Damascus was buying the 
wool of the encampment, and the satisfactory prices ob- 
tained from him they were pleased to connect with our 
visit, which they regarded as lucky. He made payment 
partly in money, and partly in blue serge and cotton 
fabrics, together with coffee and sugar; of which last 
article the Bedouin makes sparing use, preferring to drink 
his coffee bitter. 

An erroneous idea prevails that the Bedouins never 
cultivate the soil, by reason of perpetual wandering. 
The fact is that, though they are continually changing 
their locations, they do not change their districts ; to the 
area of which their peregrinations are strictly confined. 
Thus here was growing a large quantity of Indian corn, 
besides barley and wheat. 

Before sunrise the women are up milking the goats ; 
which, detaching themselves from the main flock, regu- 
larly advance to the tents, soliciting lactation. About 
four in the afternoon, you may see the Arab shepherd 



JEBEL USJDUM. 



59 



boys turning the heads of vast flocks of sheep and goats 
homewards, and their ambition is to bring their charges 
in timed as closely as may be to the setting of the sun. 
Horses, camels, sheep and goats — all may be descried 
converging to their destination as punctually as possible, 
It is a striking sight; and the observance of this regularity 
finds explanation in the fact that these boys have to go 
immense distances \ their eagerly contested object being 
to secure " fresh fields and pastures new ;; for their several 
flocks. 

The Bedouin tents, made of spun goats' 5 hair, nearly 
always are crescent-shaped, opening towards the East, 
the quarter from which they expect both friends and 
foes, and are not allowed to be closed up, however cold 
the night may be. The camels, bullocks, goats, and 
horses (always excepting the favorite mare and her foal, 
which form part of the household), are ranged sepa- 
rately in front of the encampment, together with the 
dogs, from forty to fifty in number, kept to pack the 
wolves and hyaenas, as they are trained to do. Their 
number alone gives them confidence, whereas one or two 
of them would not even bark at a wolf. 

Our parting from this tribe visibly was not as cordial 
as had been our reception and entertainment. During 
the night I had felt a hand thrust through a hole in the 
next tent in search of any object of plunder, and in the 
morning I missed my gauze butterfly-net. I did not 
hesitate to complain of the theft, and thereby gave great 
offence. Apparently they did not think it exactly polite 
that I should express any sense of the wrong done to me. 



6o 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



The chief, however, rode out with us for about half a 
mile, when he proffered a demand for baksheesh, and I 
made him a small present of money ; which, considering 
that the terms of our passage through the country had 
already been settled by Ali, I told him was not quite 
fair. 

We rode on through a jungle of acacia trees and low 
scrub until we came to a most curious district exactly 
opposite to Jebel Usdum, which we had passed on the 
previous evening. The view here, besides being extra- 
ordinary (in the strictest sense of the word), was singularly 
beautiful ; and I know of no parallel to the scenery un- 
folded to our sight. In the morning sun the salt moun- 
tains glistened far away, like so many Crystal Palaces ; 
and, as the sun declined, a pink hue was diffused over 
them, producing the strangest effects. We came upon 
two magnificent golden eagles, with owls seated as if in 
stupor on leafless trees ; and, as the Arab never kills owl, 
vulture, eagle or hawk, we were enabled to have a pretty 
close inspection of this Natural History scene, for they 
were quite undisturbed by our approach. Taking ad- 
vantage of the proximity of several small streams cours- 
ing hereabouts, we all sought the refreshment of bathing; 
after which we ate a bit of Arab bread and a few olives : 
and Ali said we should, within an hour, come up with a 
mighty Bedouin chief. We still kept in sight of the Dead 
Sea, the gloom of which was relieved by the grand 
mountains of Moab towering on the opposite side ; and 
our way still lay through the thorny acacia growth, which 
it needed Ali's keen eye to direct us through. At last, we 



JEBEL USDUM. 



61 



saw Arab boys tending cattle, from whom Ali vainly tried 
to learn the direction in which the tents were ; for they 
could not be got to answer a word. The little rips 
crouched to the earth' as if they were paralysed with 
fear. 

There was a field of wheat here, and we saw some 
Arab women in it ; but they also were so terrified at our 
appearance that we could not get to know of the encamp- 
ment. We must have been the first to visit this part of 
the country. Ali then started to make a circle, hoping 
thus to find a path ; and after the lapse of a quarter of an 
hour we heard him calling out, whereupon the other 
Arabs of our party shouted Tayeb ! (All right !) , and urged 
on their steeds with the impetuosity to be noted with 
all Arabs, who seem to be greatly excited by the prospect 
of coffee and gossip at the end of a day's journey. The 
path found, we were not long in reaching this tribe, 
whose encampment was a very extensive one, far larger 
than any we ever saw in Syria, for we are now in the 
land of Moab. 



CHAPTER VI. 



MOAB. 

Karak. — Lejjun. — Eabba. — Dibon. — Hasbon. — Salt. 



As soon as we were sighted approaching the encamp- 
ment, great excitement prevailed. Evidently we had 
penetrated beyond the ordinary range of travellers. 
Making for the middle of the settlement, Ali, who put 
himself between my companion and myself, rode straight 
up for the purpose of introducing us in due form to the 
chieftain of this powerful tribe ; who advanced to receive 
us ; touching his breast, when Ali tendered the familiar 
salutation : " God is great, and Mahommed is his pro- 
phet." On our dismounting, the sheikh was somewhat 
puzzled to discover who was the greater man of the two, 
Mr. P. or I; but Mr. P. (on my suggestion) being indi- 
cated as the " swell " of the party, he lavished his 



2I0AB. 



63 



attentions upon him. The very best coffee was prepared 
for us, the sheikh himself roasting the berries and pound- 
ing them for the special occasion. The final touch of 
polite consideration came when he laboriously unwound 
a dozen wraps of cloth off a package, which turned out 
to be a piece of white sugar, off which he broke two 
small bits. The addition of sugar to our coffee was 
considered an immense, almost unheard of, luxury. 

This chief was certainly an Ethiopian. He was almost 
black, and of majestic presence, and the tribe are greatly 
attached to hini, though how he managed his election to 
the headship of so important a Bedouin tribe is to me 
inexplicable. He had been to Cairo, where he referred 
to the rule of Abbas Pasha, and he had evidently escaped 
into Moab. He luxuriated in the possession of three 
nice wives, by whom he had three sons, who were fine 
fellows. The tribe itself was very ugly, a lot of most 
determined-looking scoundrels, who would have for- 
bidden sleep but for my being thoroughly tired out. 

The chief ordered a sheep to be killed and several 
chickens, and a substantial supper was soon served up. 
All this civility was doubtless due to the close friendship 
of Ali. 

We had not journeyed above an hour after leaving 
this encampment when we got on to a sand plain, where 
on a sudden we saw about five-and-forty naked Arabs 
advancing in line upon us, armed with a variety of 
offensive weapons — guns, swords, lances, daggers and 
clubs, and yelling at us most diabolically. I could not 
help thinking that, if we were to be killed, there was no 



6 4 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



romance in meeting our end here, and at the hands of 
such a set of savages as those before us ; but the danger 
struck us as extreme. They pulled me about roughly, 
and dealt me some severe blows. One wretch delibe- 
rately aimed his gun at me ; but Ali with great pluck 
thrust himself before me and, seizing his gun, said we 
were under the protection of the Sultan and of the Queen 
of England, and that they would be answerable for any 
harm that befell us. A prolonged hubbub ensued, 
during which they took Esau's horse from him; but, 
after detaining us for two hours, they let us go, seeing 
that we resolutely refused to comply with their demand of 
baksheesh. They were a very wild tribe of wandering 
Arabs, somewhat small in stature, and perfectly naked ; of 
Ethiopian blackness and preternatural ugliness ; and their 
Jack Sheppard formation of head favoured the theory 
that they were the refuse of the worst Bedouin 
classes. 

Jebel Usdum was still in view, and we made for more 
Arab tents, of which we presently found a large encamp- 
ment in a well timbered and well watered district, in which 
the acacia vegetation assumed a peculiar form. We had 
a hearty welcome from the sheikh, a large, gaunt man, 
very ugly (like the generality of Arabs here) and very 
morose in appearance, but hospitable withal. A large 
wooden dish was set before us, out of which we were all 
to help ourselves. I remarked to Mr. P. that this meant 
a handsome baksheesh ; but, said he, when once we are 
in the saddle to-morrow morning, they shall not get any- 
thing of the kind. No demand, however, was made, as I 



MOAB. 



65 



feared it would have been. The sheikh, an able-bodied 
man of 65 years with scars in his face, who from personal 
knowledge spoke of Ibrahim Pasha in terms of high 
praise, introduced to us two sons of his by his favorite 
wife, smart lads with wonderful eyes and amiable faces. 
He had four wives ; of whom one was very old, thefirstlove 
of his youth, on whom devolved the care of his favorite 
Arab mare ; and another was remarkable alike for her 
youth and her beauty. The Arab woman's life, I need 
hardly say, is one of great hardship, barely removed from 
slavery. There is no exemption from labour even for the 
sheikh's wives, who get up long before day-break to milk 
the goats, and whom you afterwards hear busily engaged 
with their leathern churns. If I cannot poetically say of 
the men that they were " up with the lark/' I certainly 
never saw an Arab lying down after sunrise ; and habits 
of industry in the open and the salubrity of the climate 
of Moab preserved their health and gave them a brightly 
clean aspect. This was a most devotional camp, the 
natives praying fervently at sundown ; and I could not 
help reflecting that, if some of those Exeter Hall re- 
ligionists who flatter themselves with the charming 
notion that they alone know the way Heavenward could 
have seen and heard the natural effusion of soul with 
which these people approached the Deity, there would 
have been considerable abatement of their spiritual con- 
ceit. The total absence of affectation — of that Sunday 
behaviour which we are wont to put on with our Sunday 
clothes, to the sad deterioration of the rest of the week — 
with the seclusion of the station, was powerfully affecting. 

F 



66 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



On bidding farewell to this great chieftain in the 
morning, he kissed our hands thrice and expressed his 
anxiety for our safety. We now lost sight of the Dead 
Sea. Karak was our next point, and we directed our 
course thither ; but we were careful to avoid going by 
the usual route of Wady Karak, where Ali thought we 
were likely to be intercepted by strolling Arabs who 
might be on the look-out for us. So we made direct for 
the mountains. The riding here was very trying, I 
should say about the most difficult mortal could have. "We 
came up to some curious clay mounds separating the sand 
from the mountains, and then to a shallow brook, beside 
which profusely blossomed oleanders, both pink and 
white. Our ascent now gradually began, and, adopting 
a private road through a small encampment, we left the 
beaten path that conducts to Wady Karak in the distance. 
We were kindly saluted as we passed through, and the 
Arabs seemed to be highly amused at our coming amongst 
them. One of the sheikhs told me he had been to Con- 
stantinople with a present of horses to the Sultan, such 
horses, added he, as any monarch would be proud to own. 
To show me that he was not altogether out of the world 
of intelligence, he informed me that the Sultan had been 
to see the Queen of England \ and his fixed (I fear un- 
alterably fixed) idea of that visit of the Commander of 
the Faithful was limited to the enlargement of the Eoyal 
circle. He could conceive of no other motive for his 
Highness' undertaking that historically famous personal 
inspection of England's greatness. 

The views from the mountain tops were extremely 



KARAK. 



67 



grand, and the air was most bracing ; I should take this to 
be one of the healthiest places in the world. My constitu- 
tion which had suffered so much from the effects of the 
climate of Central Africa seemed to revive as it were at 
one spring, and I felt a sudden access of youthful vigour. 
The pasturage was rich, the goats and sheep fat, the 
horses in good condition ; and the inhabitants wore a look 
of substantial comfort. In a tent I found a Mahommedan 
Eeader, who obviously objected to the distribution by my 
friend of the Scriptures in Arabic. The good nian's 
faith was not liberal enough to think that there could 
possibly be any truth beyond his own circle ; and I am 
not sure that he stands alone in that ungenerous convic- 
tion. I was struck, however, by the kindly toleration of 
my friend's labours by the sheikhs. 

When the mists cleared off the mountains, they revealed 
their tops round as balls. Small patches of wheat were 
to be seen on either side as we ascended, with the occa- 
sional burial place of some sheikh, while the tedium of 
our way was relieved by the luxuriant growth of the 
narcissus, and the lovely home-note of the cuckoo in the 
Wady Karak below. Suddenly we were refreshed by 
sighting Karak, which was unveiled to us by the tempo- 
rary floating away of the cloud which nearly always 
envelopes it. The elevation of this magnificent old (re- 
puted) Crusaders 5 Castle may be estimated approximately 
by the fact that within the last six or seven hours we had 
ascended over 4000 feet ; and we had to progress still 
higher before we reached it. We were now in the midst 
of grand scenery, and we were reminded of the tempera- 

f2 



63 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



ture to be expected at night on these mountains by 
seeing several donkeys laden with wood plodding up- 
wards. At this time of the year (March) the nights 
here are intensely cold. Now we descended somewhat, 
coming to a brook beside which grew almond and fig trees 
in great luxuriance ; the air filled with the hum of bees 
seeking the early flowers of spring (Karak, be it known, 
is famous for its honey) ; and again we had to face a stiff 
bit of work which none but Syrian horses would 
attempt. Access is obtained to Karak through a tunnel 
cut in the solid rock for about 150 feet; — a striking tes- 
timony to the patient skill and energy of its excavators 
in the olden time, when engineering operations were not 
facilitated by blasting as they now are. To get to the 
outer archway of this tunnel, we struggled for several 
hundreds of feet up the precipitous elevation whereon the 
castle stands. We entered Karak without molestation, 
and the first thing that struck us was the flat-roofed mud 
houses of the inhabitants ; many of whom availed them- 
selves of this shelter in the winter, and returned to the 
plains in summer. This was the only instance, familiar 
to me, of Bedouins taking to town life. 

We hastened to pay our respects to a Christian sheikh,* 
Suleiman by name, whose residence is in the neighbour- 
hood of the Greek church. Half of his community had 
already gone down to the plains ; but he was detained in 
town by the illness of his favorite son, who suffered from 

* A singular example of a Bedouin chief being Christian; and the 
only one example of a whole Bedouin encampment being the same. 



KARAK. 



69 



•consumption. His reception of Mr. P., whom lie had 
before entertained, was most kind ; and he generously 
invited us to put up with him during our stay in Karak, 
which after the life we had been leading with vagrant 
Arabs we were not loth to do ; and the quaint lofty room 
with recesses for the accommodation of sleepers awaited 
us. Our arrival, owing to the missionary reputation of 
my companion, inflamed the jealousy of a couple of Greek 
priests, who, I am prepared to swear most circumstantially, 
had not washed themselves for 10 years, and had not 
changed their raiment for twelve months. (It is as well 
to be exact when one is about it !) How they could have 
fancied we were likely to injure their position, I know 
not j but so unmistakable were the signs of their un- 
easiness and consequent dejection that I lost no time in 
administering nips of brandy by way of medical comfort ; 
and I found that my cognac soon brought about a 
healthier understanding respecting our mutual relations. 

We were not unprepared for the substantial repast 
that was set before us. It consisted of boiled beef and 
mutton, pigeons, figs, delicious honey, and splendid 
coffee. While we were engaged on this ample provision 
for our wants, there burst in upon us a Syrian, — the 
Arabic Scripture Eeader to the encampment, who re- 
joiced in the euphonious name of Jerias Nikar. It was 
the work of an instant ; but, before we were hardly con- 
scious of his intrusion, he thrust his hand into the 
honey-pot and consumed the entire contents. Our chance 
of tasting the honey on that occasion was gone beyond 
possibility of recovery, it being the Arab etiquette neither 



7o 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



to place fresh dishes nor to remove them, except empty, 
— the attendants addressing themselves to the remains of 
the entertainment. Oar host took this invasion all as 
matter of course. To the Arabic mind possession always 
consecrates property. Jerias, who had been sent hither 
from Beyrouth and was disposed to make capital out of 
his having traversed the vast plains of Moab to get to his 
destination, gave himself all the airs (and a deal more) of 
an Oxford graduate, and asserted his claim to rank with 
us in every respect. 

The produce of honey in Karakis on a very large scale. 
An enormous number of bees are maintained here. In 
almost every house in the place, near the doorway, you 
see about twenty receptacles, of dried clay, ranged on 
shelves, looking like so many drain-pipes. As I have 
already said, Karak is noted for its honey throughout the 
East, the peculiar delicacy of its flavour being accounted 
for by the kind of heather growing round Karak for 
miles, on which the bees feed ; and it is largely eaten by 
the natives, as indeed it may be and is eaten by travellers, 
in virtue of its excellence. It is not cloying, like the 
English produce. Arab bread is an admirable vehicle for 
it ; and I can certify that it had the best effect on the 
system. They withdraw the honey twice a year. 

My friend Mr. P. was prostrated here by Syrian fever 
for a week ; and I must not forget to give due prominence 
to the information that, in the commodious sleeping- 
apartment, stowed away in various recesses were the 
sheikh, his wife and children, together with his son and 
his wife, and the aged mother of the sheikh himself, an 



KARAK. 



7i 



asthmatic old lady who disturbed us the whole night 
with her coughing and spitting.* This was far from being 
agreeable, and the omnium-gatherum of society in one and 
the same apartment I felt to be somewhat awkward ; but 
the Arabs objectionably are all great spitters. In the 
middle of the room we had a lively wood fire ; yet we 
felt the acute cold. 

I explored the castle down to its lowermost basement. 
It has seven storeys ; of which the final one seemed to be 
a receptacle for human skulls and bones, of which there 
was an ample supply. The roof of each storey is arched, 
and the first two are excavated from the solid rock ; the 
superstructure being built up with stone, of which the 
masonry is indeed most wonderful. 

The site of Canon Tristram's encampment was pointed 
out to me, when the Arab chiefs held him captive. 

The milk we obtained here was singularly good, and 
we regaled on eggs and fresh butter every day, in addi- 
tion to sundry items of Arab diet which I am unable to 
identify in English. With pomegranates and raisins and 
the red wine of Jerusalem for our dessert, our fare may 
well be said to have been sumptuous ; the provision was 
on the most liberal scale ; yet we had great difficulty in 
getting enough to eat. That Arabic Scripture Eeader, 

* I hardly do justice to the capacity of this room. I learned after- 
wards that, besides those I have enumerated in the text, there were 
twenty more old ladies ensconced in the recesses. It was a very 
Hampton Court for the mothers of the princes of Moab, and these 
must not be deprived of their share in the grunting, groaning, and 
spitting. 



7 2 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG, 



who took twenty mouthfuls to our one, made short work 
with all that came within his reach. Prodigious indeed 
was the rapidity with which he caused things to vanish 
into his interior. 

It was a curious sight to see two Englishmen sitting 
down on the floor with twenty Arabs, eating with their 
hands out of a large dish ; and, these being covered with 
honey and other sticky matter, if we took a short spell 
for digestion, the flies hastened to give to them the 
appearance of plum-pudding. Jerias 5 ceaseless activity 
in eating, it is hardly worth while to mention, did not 
inconvenience him in the same way. 

The diseases prevalent in Karak are simply referable to, 
and identical with, dirt. It is one of the dirtiest places in 
the world ; every house or hut without exception swarms 
with vermin, the itch being quite an orthodox complaint. 
In fact, it is not safe to walk out for the filth. The goats 
are kept in every little court-yard before the door. A 
lazier community of men it would be difficult to find. 
They have no industries ; and the place is celebrated only 
for the gifts of Nature, milk and honey. We were able 
to get barley here for our horses ; and after a stay of six 
days I was not sorry to proceed on our journey. 

In view of the endless treeless plains before us (for 
this part of Moab is entirely bare of timber), I likened 
our course to that of a ship just starting on her voyage. 
Depending as we had to do entirely on our horses, I en- 
tertained grave doubts, after looking at a rough map, 
of being able to accomplish the distance hence to the 
coast. Crossing the ravine on the north of Karak, we bore 



LEJJUN. 



73 



east and subsequently north-east for five hours over the 
barren, undulating waste, until we reached the ruins of 
a town called Lejjun. There was nothing special to 
distinguish it from several smaller ones we saw on the 
way, or to denote any superiority of architecture. Many 
such we passed on the same afternoon during our three 
hours' ride across the uninviting country westward to 
Eabba. Neither people, nor flocks nor herds did we see 
here; nor was there any grass, the ground being covered 
with a small wormwood scrub. Only at intervals there 
were small patches of ill-grown corn where the soil 
seemed to be rather thicker between the bare stony hills. 
As we approached Rabba, however, there was a visible 
improvement in both the land and the crops of corn, and 
short grass supplanted the wormwood scrub. Cattle, 
sheep, goats and horses were before us ; and lying in am- 
bush as it were for one of these delicacies, I saw a solitary 
wolf, who trotted off upon seeing us. One or two of these 
predacious animals may always be found in the vicinity 
of the sheep. Presently we came upon a camp of about 
thirty tents south of the widely extended ruins, the mas- 
sive columns, and the great stone water-tanks of Eabba. 
These mutilated remains struck me as being highly 
illustrative of the former magnificence of the place ; the 
columns were very numerous \ and there can be little 
doubt that excavations would yield large and rare results 
to antiquaries. The water-tanks were constructed on the 
model of Solomon's Pool. 

The small camp which we had now reached had tents 
of black and white goats' hair cloth, manufactured by the 



74 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



women, to whom among the Bedouins is assigned the 
duty of erecting and of removing the tents, — which the 
men never attend to. Mr. P. and I differed on the question 
of these people being Bedouins. I am firmly convinced 
they were, though they professed to be Greek Christians. 
There was a Greek Scripture Eeader here, adorned with 
the Greek cassock, and hair as long as a woman's and 
tied up in that fashion ; — the first (and I should say only) 
instance of a Bedouin turning parson. It is singular 
that all barbarians Christianised in Oriental lands should 
be so filthy. It cannot be that prayers and meditation 
occupy their time so completely that they can spare 
none to attend to their temporal comforts ; and it is no 
recondite philosophy which teaches us that cleanliness is 
next to godliness : yet it gave me a shudder to look at 
the back of this creature's neck; it literally swarmed 
with vermin. He had been educated at a Greek school 
in Karak, and considered himself quite a divine ; and I 
was vastly amused to observe the dignified repose of 
manner (it would have done credit to Dr. Tait) with which 
he gave audience to visitors. When one thinks of the 
fortitude involved in maintaining a majestic demeanour 
under such irritating conditions, it shows that the age of 
martyrs has not passed altogether away. 

These Greek priests, let me say, do not lead the most 
exemplary of lives ; in fact, save among the Bedouins, 
little morality flourishes here. They marry, but, as with 
the Mahommedans, their wives never appear in public. 

An animated conversation in Arabic took place between 
Mr. P. and the sheikh of the little camp who advanced to 



RABBA. 



75 



receive us. This tribe owned a very large flock of sheep, 
and derived a handsome revenue from sale of the wool ; 
and, before we retired to rest (which was somewhat 
late), we had a sheep killed for our supper. As I have 
explained before, it is a strict rule, at least as far as I 
know, with the Bedouins not to produce a second supply 
of food. Ample provision is always made for the 
requirements of the whole company, and with that is an 
end of the feast. When, therefore, not long after we had 
done eating, our old gormandising and scripture-reading 
friend, Jerias Nikar, trotted in, he simply was dished; 
and I could not help laughing aloud at the rueful ex- 
pression of his countenance as soon as he realised his 
unhappy fate. Nor did his privation terminate here; for 
the sheikh, giving him to understand that honour should 
be rendered where honour is due, hastened to dispossess 
him of the blankets and the comfortable Turkish pelisse 
which Jerias, with an eye to nocturnal comfort, had been 
careful to bring on with him. These the sheikh proceeded 
to dispose for our bed, and Jerias had to lie — self- 
sacrificing wight ! — on the hard ground, supperless. In 
the morning I awoke to hear the refreshing sound of 
coffee-pounding. Bedouin hospitality, as my narrative 
has already shewn, is not niggardly. Their usual form 
of salutation is : " Sit down • open your heart in friend- 
ship ; drink coffee ; eat flesh ; rest under our habitation ; 
get up at sunrise and depart." But this fresh preparation 
of coffee for us was a special mark of favour, and I was 
not ungrateful to get it in perfection. 

Though coffee is their common drink, to the Arabs it 



76 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



never seems to lose the sense of a luxury, and all their 
comfort is centred in its enjoyment. Small as are the 
cups they use, it is astonishing how they spin out 
drinking one. The sips they take are so infinitesimal 
that I have seen an hour devoted to one cup. They take 
just enough to impart the flavour to the palate ; and this 
prolonged sipping does, I believe, secure the proper 
enjoyment of it. The cups of state provided on great 
occasions by distinguished sheikhs are of porcelain ; and, 
like our egg-cups, they are ranged in stands made of 
gold and set with precious stones, and handsomely 
filagreed; — in which class of ornamental work the Arabs 
are very skilful. 

On the plains we saw large herds of black goats. The 
bullocks were very small, their keep being poor \ but 
there were several good mares with foal at foot, bearing 
evident marks of pure Arab blood in their veins. Only 
the horses and sheep carried then" condition in their 
bodies. This was a busy season with the Arab wool mer- 
chants \ and I found that they were effecting their 
business without money, which, on the principle of barter, 
was represented by Persian carpets, coffee, and women's 
ornaments. The women here, by the way, were both 
small and ugly, and they did not improve matters by 
tattooing their faces and arms. Oppressed with the weight 
of domestic labour, they looked sad and weary, and 
apparently had lost their curiosity on the arrival of 
strangers. Melancholy indeed is the life of the Bedouin 
woman, uncheered by the society of her lord and master, 
for the men always muster in the guest-chamber of the 



RABBA. 



77 



sheikh at night for the discussion of the day's news ; when 
the talking is fast and furious, pitched so high that you 
cannot hear yourself speak. Lively chaff often takes 
place, of a highly personal style, for they are wont to 
illustrate every subject by comparison. Thus, one conies 
in looking very melancholy, and is asked the reason of 
his grief. "I have lost a favourite she goat," is the 
answer, " who had a face exactly like yours ; " — when 
solvuntur rim tabulce. 

The guest-chamber, I must mention, is reserved for 
travellers, who are received therein by the sheikh ; and 
their entertainment is kept up by levying contributions 
on the whole tribe. 

Making a hurried inspection, as we passed next 
morning, of the singularly fine ruins of Kabba and Beiat 
Kurm, we kept more to the east for Wady Mojeb, through 
the ruins of Bala, which, though they were of the same 
order as previous ones, were not quite so distinctive as 
the last ; and we descended at the junction of the 
three wadys — Seideh, Makharras, and Balwha. This we 
considered to be the best place to cross at, being not 
quite so precipitous as the more westerly part. Sud- 
denly we caught sight of a party of Arabs at the bottom, 
2000 feet below. Only actual observation and trial of it 
can give one an idea of the character of this descent ; 
and it would have been a most ugly place at which to en- 
counter robbers. Now it happened that we enjoyed the 
society, for a day or two, of that blessed kill-joy, Jerias 
Nikar, and he entertained himself with the spiritual 
exercise of singing " Oh that will be joyful " until the 



7 3 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



echo of the juvenile anthem was diffused over the 
mountain range. I had failed to interrupt him before, 
even when I spoke of the risk of our being thus 
discovered by strolling Arabs : but my companion 
unfortunately did not take the same view as I did of 
Jerias' vocalization. I availed myself, therefore, of the 
example of the Arabs below, to whom I called his atten- 
tion. Hereupon his alarm became extreme, and he 
jerked out short sentences like " Oh ! we shall have our 
throats cut"— "Our heads will be cut off" — "Our 
bodies will be eaten by hyaenas to-night." And when, 
admitting the necessity of one of our party paying the 
penalty of death, I proposed that he of course should be 
the one, his terror and his bewilderment reached their 
climax. But we heard no more of " Oh that will be joyful " 
for the rest of the way. Taking my glass to reconnoitre, 
I observed a woman and child were of the party, — a 
reassuring fact which I took good care not to communicate 
to Jerias, lest he should make a fresh start in the vocal 
line. The descent was marvellous, and once or twice our 
horses were in great jeopardy. I had some trouble in 
managing my nag, which was a young Arab stallion full 
of pluck and fire, and therefore needed strong reining-in ; 
but it was a treat to see my friend's little black horse 
"Moab" plodding quietly and steadily along. We 
resolved not to dismount till after the Arabs had passed 
us. They came up to us shortly, and were most civil ; 
indeed they were more apprehensive of danger than 
ourselves, not having seen European faces before in 
their lives. Even for Arab travellers the way was peri- 



DIB ON. 



79 



lous. Only the day before, we learned that three of them 
had been murdered by other Arabs for " blood-revenge ; " 
which among various tribes is strictly pursued. If one 
Arab kills another, the tribe to which the murdered man 
belonged will send out spies, and, be the lapse of time 
what it may, life will be had for life. It is an universally 
prevalent rule, and it is most rigidly enforced. Had 
these been robbers, we should have been awkwardly 
situated. Fortunately they were poor peasants from 
Karak, who were returning thither. 

The river Anion runs along this ravine between 
oleanders and willows ; and I saw fish in it of twice the 
size of large minnows, but only up to the point where the 
salt impregnates the water, in which they would not live. 
We rested for half an hour by its rippling waters, and 
addressed ourselves with considerable satisfaction to the 
bit of mutton and the Arab bread with which our last 
host had generously provided us ; and I availed myself 
of the opportunity to do a little washing on my own 
account, my duplicate woollen shirt and socks being the 
objects on which I expended my energy. 

From 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon it was 
one prolonged ascending and descending. The path up 
the north bank is very steep towards the top, and comes 
out at the ruins of Aroer; the examination of which 
yielded to us no results, from the short time at our 
disposal for that purpose, for it was getting late, and 
we had to seek a camp for our night's shelter. 

There were no Arabs at Dibon, for which we made 



So 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



straight upon leaving Aroer. The ruins extend over 
two hills, and out of the caves, of which the place is full, 
I obtained fragments of very curious pottery. We 
might have secured something more worthy of preserva- 
tion if we had had time. But, as night was fast coming 
on, we were compelled to leave in search of a Bedouin 
encampment. Turning down the valley to the east, we 
found two Arab tents a mile or two further on. This 
was the smallest encampment we ever saw; and we 
discovered that the two Bedouins — one a Christian (the 
last Christian Bedouin I met), and the other a Mahom- 
medan — were outlaws. The Christian satisfied himself 
with one wife, whereas his fellow-exile had two. Now 
this was a curious association ; and, notoi^iously unsafe 
as it is to have dealings with so small a number, we 
were forced by the darkness of the night to put up here. 
Our quarters were far from comfortable ; they could not, 
by reason of their poverty, provide us with carpets, and, 
moreover, they were very dirty; so that before I laid 
my blanket down I took care to sweep out a bit of the 
ground. A small kid was soon killed for us, and we 
luckily had tea in our saddle-bags. This was the first 
tea they ever set eyes on, but they did not like the 
taste of it when I invited them to drink with us. We 
were not particularly sorry to leave early the next morn- 
ing, when, in consideration of their evident poverty, we 
made them a small present of money. It was a highly 
imprudent thing to do, under the circumstances. The 
sight of money inflamed their cupidity to a frantic pitch, 
and they instantly demanded more ; and their claim was 



DIBON. 



81 



reinforced by the wife of the Christian Bedouin, who 
contorted her unveiled face most miserably by way of 
piteous appeal. Clutching the skin over her cheek-bones, 
she howled dismally as though she had lost some dear 
relative. She also was puzzled to observe the Queen's 
head on the half-sovereign which her husband handed to 
her. That a Sitt (woman) ruled over men in our country, 
they could not be made to understand ; so, waving the 
first finger of her right hand backwards and forwards, 
she exclaimed Mushareef ! Mushareef! (I can't under- 
stand) . 

Our course now was eastwards along the valley, in 
which good grass took the place of scrub, and we saw 
remarkable traces of ancient terraces, doubtless once 
covered with vines. In the Moab plateau, particularly in 
the immediate neighbourhood of the sites of ancient 
villages, indications abound of grapes and olives* having 
been largely cultivated by the inhabitants, as they are 
to the present day in Syria. It is easy to sketch their 
probable mode of existence. Their flocks and herds 
would browse on the scanty herbage of the thin-skinned 
hills, corn being grown on every plot of deeper soil, and 
the produce of the chase would help to eke out the 
meagre subsistence thus obtained. 

After looking anxiously about, we saw smoke ascending 
from behind some little hillocks, and, proceeding in that 
direction, we espied a large number of Arab tents distant 
about two miles from us, which cheered our weary hearts. 

* Olives now are never seen grown in the Bedouin dominions. 

G 



82 ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 

We first came up with, some small European tents, 
which we found to belong to Damascus wool-buyers; 
but, as we did not wish to disturb the sheikhs who were 
in solemn conclave with these men, we passed on to the 
neighbouring encampment where plenty reigned around 
in the shape of large numbers of cattle, goats, and sheep. 
One of the last was quickly killed, and potted for us ; 
and good carpets, with saddle-bags for pillows, promised 
us the refreshment of sound slumber which the heavy 
fatigues of the last few days rendered so desirable. 
Savage-looking men crowded round to look at us ; but 
the presence of the Damascus wool-buyers assured us 
against harm. I informed Jerias that this was the last 
supper he would help us to devour, and the intimation 
shot a pang into the heart of the glutton, who had hoped 
to be asked to accompany us out of the country. After 
supper three Arabs sat and played on one-stringed 
instruments airs of a curious character, while the open 
mouths of the assembled company proclaimed their 
enjoyment of the wild, imaginative music. It was a 
lovely star-lit night, and a fine fire of wood embers 
served to add to our comfort. 

Daring the night we were disturbed by the furious 
barking of the dogs, the horses and the sheep running 
wildly about in all directions. I got up and looked out 
of the tent, and the discovery was soon made that a wolf 
had got within the encampment in defiance of the dogs, 
and had seized a fat ewe, the shoulder of which it damaged 
severely. Now, as nothing could be had out of the wolf, 
the Arabs looked to repair the damage out of our pockets, 



DIB ON. 



83 



the bad luck being imputed by them to our arrival. 
Accordingly, when we got up in the morning, Mr. P. was 
informed that his horse had injured the sheep by kicking 
it, and a napoleon was demanded in satisfaction. Mean- 
while, in support of the trumped-up story, they were 
sulky all round, and there were no signs of getting coffee. 
To set matters straight, I made a small present, which 
had the desired effect of reinstating us in their good graces, 
and all due civility was observed towards us. And now, 
just as we were leaving, Jerias provided us with some 
entertainment at his own expense. No sooner had he 
mounted his mule than the animal became very restive, 
and finally, after executing sundry lively movements to 
the intense consternation of its rider, it concluded by 
sending him flying overhead. It was a most amusing 
scene, and the Bedouins, who take no little delight in 
rough fun, enjoyed the mishap amazingly. Poor Jerias, 
rubbing himself all over, protested in tearful accents that 
he was "killed," and a right royal row he did kick up. 
The incident was laughable enough, but it was somewhat 
unfortunate for us, inasmuch as it delayed our start, and 
made our parting from him here a matter of some diffi- 
culty. Pretending that he could never venture to mount 
the mule again, he accompanied us for at least half a mile 
on foot, when, as the time of parting could no longer be 
postponed, he signified that he was cc very much feared 
for us," and cheered us with the prospect of being killed ; 
— we should never reach Salt ! All this was presented 
to us in the most excited manner, and was introductory 
to the usual solicitation of pecuniary assistance ; to which 



s 4 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



I resolutely turned a deaf ear, well knowing that the 
Mission at Beyrout would supply him with all necessaries. 
Such was his pertinacity, however, aggravated by hypo- 
critical concern for our safety, that it took some time to 
get rid of Jerias mentally, as we had done with him in 
the flesh. 

Excepting the well-watered lowlands, which are of very 
limited extent, the land may be said to be bare of corn ; 
in which respect it offers a marked contrast to the rich 
plains of Philistia, Acre, and Esdraelon. 

The ruins of Moab impress the observer with a sense of 
the solidity and grandeur of the structures. The stones 
are very massive, and the masonry evidently was of a 
high order. Out of such an extent of desolation it is of 
course impossible to arrive at any definite conclusion as 
to the past architecture, though the scientific world is 
always ready to proclaim its judgments with the aid of 
some fanciful theory ; but I feel confident that we shall 
be enabled by systematic excavations to arrive at sound 
conclusions respecting it. There are evidences here of a 
higher antiquity than that of Petra ; and we must live in 
hope of the revelation in due time of remarkable anti- 
quities, though I should decline (with thanks) to go dig- 
ging among these Bedouins. 

I had hoped to find some remnants of the Moabite 
Stone, but it was like looking for a needle in a bottle of 
hay. It was smashed to pieces, and mutilated beyond 
recognition, in consequence of the fussiness of a mis- 
sionary now resident near Jerusalem, who made such a 
hubbub with the German Consul that the Bedouins, terri- 



UM RASAS. 



85 



fled into believing that the Stone was the record of some 
treaty or law by which the Turks would seek to claim 
special jurisdiction over them, quietly broke it up. For 
this irreparable loss to Biblical History we have to thank 
a bustling missionary and a too inflammable Consul. At 
Jerusalem I know that many plausible excuses are given 
for it ; but these are the facts of the case ; and no contra- 
diction of so notorious a matter will ever avail to deceive 
intelligent people. 

There is little of note in the ruins of Um Basas, 
Madebak, and other places. They are merely the 
ruins of deserted towns, which evidently were of small 
extent. This was the first country in which I wit* 
nessed the remains of town after town left completely 
deserted, — without a sign of either animal or vegetable 
life around. 

The almost complete drought occasioned by the long 
dry season accounts for the stuntedness of the bullocks, 
which by the arrival of the rainy season are in so poor, 
starved a state that it takes all the time to get into condi- 
tion, to say nothing of growth. The camels here are not 
of a fine class, nor are the sheep particularly good. Indeed 
it requires an effort of the mind to believe that rich and 
powerful people ever could have existed in this region, 
unless some violent convulsion of Nature has since taken 
place, for it is a thin-skinned ground, altogether an un- 
profitable soil — immense districts reaching far into the 
interior, which we arduously crossed, nothing but arid 
stony deserts, at once so melancholy and so difficult that 



86 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



the apprehension of our horses knocking up filled us with 
alarm for our fate. 

We now directed our course to Hasbon for Salt, during 
which we traversed vast plains and saw numerous 
Bedouin encampments. Life among the Bedouins, how- 
ever, is so uniform that I need not expatiate on the sub- 
ject of our putting up with them any further. 

A strange domestic practice prevails among the Be- 
douins, not those in villages but those of the wandering 
class. They pickle their infants after three days old, in 
strong brine. I learned that it was a habit consecrated, 
to them by a long antiquity ; and it is based upon the 
notion that the process, which extends over several 
hours, imparts hardness to the tender skin. The immer- 
sion is said to be fatal to delicate babies. Be the effect 
of the pickling what it may, however, no labour is wasted 
on the children in the way of washing them afterwards. 
They are suffered to grow up in utter ignorance of the 
cleansing virtues of water ; the superstition being that 
the evil eye might be attracted to their comeliness. 
Accordingly, I have seen them with regular crusts — 
thick deposits — of dirt on the top of their heads, and 
their eyes full of flies. 

In the country surrounding Hasbon I saw some good 
corn land. Bedouins, as a rule, are not so devotional as 
the town Arabs. I was therefore struck by observing two 
Bedouin sheikhs saying prayers in the midst of one of the 
patches of wheat. These gentlemen, who by the way are 
not singular in thinking that the operations of Nature 



HA SB ON. 



87 



should be made to serve their own individual interests, 
to the derangement of the general economy, were begin- 
ning to be anxious about the harvest. The crops were 
looking very bad, and there were other signs of great 
scarcity. We stopped the night with a sheikh who was 
very rich in cattle, who was polite enough to consult us 
as to our taste for mutton or fowl. In the course of 
several years' wandering about the world, my motto 
always has been : " stick to meat \ " I have always con- 
trived to get a bit of ir, if possible ; and twelve hours in 
the saddle — over such country too ! — really required us 
to fortify the system. There was something in his face 
which made me feel sure that he would exact baksheesh 
in the morning. However, we made ourselves as agree- 
able as we could \ and in the course of the evening he 
insisted that I should dance before him \ — he would not 
hear of a refusal. I protested that I could not dance 
without music. It was all in vain \ dance he would have 
me ; so, seeing there was nothing for it but to comply, I 
turned up my trousers, and, striking a large copper tray 
with a splendid jingle in it, did the ballet. I am not sure 
that I can claim the merit of having on this occasion 
exhibited the graces of the " light fantastic toe," and it is 
just possible that I may not have won the admiration of 
the habitues of Drury Lane or Covent Garden : but, being 
in good physical trim at the time, I executed sundry 
highly irregular, yet athletically commendable, feats 
which delighted the company. The triple gyration of my 
body on the toes extorted their special applause. The 
Bedouins never dance themselves ; but evidently that 



38 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



circumstance did not bar their enjoyment of my saltatory 
exertions. 

Some idea of my anxiety to astonish the natives may 
be had from the fact that I maintained this exhibition of 
my powers for about two hours, during which I en- 
deavoured to impart as much variety of measure as I was 
master of. Nor was song altogether wanting, for I gave 
them " The Perfect Cure/' the accompanying contortions 
of which piece of insanity, I found, carried off the prize 
of their approbation. Perhaps, like their educated betters 
under similar circumstances, they discovered some hidden 
meaning in that abnormal example of the "poetry of mo- 
tion/' After all this I felt not only exhausted but con- 
vinced that I had fully earned our entertainment that 
night. But I had an uneasy suspicion all along that we 
should have trouble with this man. 

He entered into a long conversation with us afterwards. 
He said he had heard at Jerusalem two years ago that 
Englishmen could do anything, everything but save life ; 
and he meant to visit Egypt before he died, to see 
carriages go without horses, for he had been informed by 
Egyptian jugglers and acrobats, passing here at intervals, 
that these carriages went all the way from Scandaruni 
(Alexandria) to Suez, from sunrise to sundown, being 
propelled by " effreets " (demons), whose breath might be 
occasionally seen issuing from their bellies. My dancing 
had inflamed his mind to appreciation of the indomitable 
energy of the Anglo-Saxon race ! 

Then he made numerous inquiries about England, his 
interest centering in the curiosity to know how people 



HASBON. 



89 



were served when they did not pay taxes, and whether 
the Queen ever had the heads of her subjects chopped off. 
I was most careful to inform him that no one was executed 
except murderers, who never escaped the vengeance of 
the law, however remote they might be. 

Our horses beginning to betray symptoms of fatigue, 
we gave them an extra feed of barley in the morning 
(Bedouins always feed their horses well), and then we 
decided on starting. It was quite 8 before we got off, 
and the sheikh attended us on a beautiful grey mare. 
We did not proceed far, however, before he quietly put 
out his hand, saying " Baksheesh \ " m I was not altogether 
impressed favorably by him ; so, thinking discretion the 
better part of valour, I tendered him a quarter Turk 
pound ; which he most disdainfully refused to accept. 
We jogged on as though nothing had occurred to disturb 
the course of our friendship, until he demanded "three 
napoleons," to which definite claim I responded with 
Mafeesh! "I will have three napoleons," insisted he; 
whereupon I told him we thought he was our friend. 
This seemed to stagger him ; the notion of disinterested 
and unremunerated amity obviously was one not under- 
stood by him. He became very violent and, brandishing 
his spear, insisted upon having that sum. When he found 
he failed to practise on our fears, he indulged in strong 
sneering expressions and gradually fell away from us. 
We congratulated ourselves on our escape from him, and 
had gone a good way on, when we were made somewhat 
uncomfortable by hearing him again in pursuit of us. In 
high tones and a most excited manner he reinforced his 



go 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



demand ; but, when lie saw he could get nothing out of 
us, he vented his indignation by calling us " Christian 
dogs " and bidding us ce go ! " We did not decline to 
avail ourselves of the permission so kindly accorded ; yet 
we could not reckon on our escape, for these men brood 
over matters and act on sudden impulses that defy sober 
calculation. On this occasion/ however, we had no further 
trouble. We came across much partridge, and we sighted 
numbers of large cranes. These birds, which the Arabs 
call birds of good fortune, are never killed by them, and 
you may frequently see them in the immediate neighbour- 
hood of the herd-boys. 

After leaving Hasbon far behind us, we began to see in 
the distance something partaking of the character of 
woodland scenery ; and in the afternoon we passed 
through a beautiful wooded district, where we saw a fine 
herd of gazelle grazing. This was the first timber I had 
seen in Moab, and, as we progressed, there was a very 
large extent of forest, with most inviting views. We 
regretted there were no Arab tents to enable us to pull up 
here for the night and start for Salt next morning ; but 
we had to press on for Salt without this desirable interval 
of rest, and we watched with anxiety for signs to indicate 
that we were somewhere near. 

We descended to a ravine, after getting through which 
we caught sight of European shaped tents. This amazed 
us, and we were lost in speculation as to the phenomenon 
when, on nearing the place, we saw about forty magnificent 
Arab stallions, and Turkish troops lounging about. Only 
travellers who have gone through such regions as we had 



HA SB ON. 



9i 



know what a feeling of excited gratitude conies over one 
upon witnessing such evidences of security. We soon 
learned that they were the mounted patrol, going out to 
certain Bedouin encampments to collect taxes. The 
soldiers, saluting us in most respectful Turkish fashion, 
inquired where we came from and whither we were going. 
When we informed them that we were from Karak and 
bound to Salt, they looked amazed, exclaiming Tayeb ! 
(good !) 

Declining their kind invitation to stay with them 
that night, we urged our horses on, and by observ- 
ing the return of cattle * knew we were near some 
place of shelter ; and soon we were gratified by hearing 
the echo of voices in a distant valley. Two large Syrian 
owls that hooted dolefully only served to increase the 
gloom of our position. A very steep ascent awaited us, 
and on reaching its summit we saw afar off three boys 
driving herds of cattle towards what we knew was our 
destination. The road now became most difficult ; im- 
mense boulders of stone lay in our way ; and, to make 
matters worse, the night became quite dark. Suddenly 
I made the unwelcome discovery that I had lost my 
friend, after whom I hollaed in vain. How I should have 
managed to extricate myself from this awkward position, 
I know not, but for the fortunate presence of an Arab 

* A little further on we met a cow which had been overlooked by 
the boys who had driven the herd on. Realizing her danger with 
the sure instinct of cattle as to wild animals, she bellowed piteously 
She would have had small chance of escape from the hyaenas if she 
did not regain the herd. 



92 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



boy who, seizing the rein of mj horse, guided me on to 
a kind of path beside a stone wall — the Sultan's highway 
into the vast Turkish stronghold which to the Bedouins is 
a lasting memorial of the Sultan's might. On turning 
the corner of this rocky locality, my ears were assailed 
by a tremendous rolling roar, caused by the union of the 
barking of hundreds of dogs with the dash and splash 
of a rapid torrent near at hand. All in a moment the 
lights of Salt became visible. The transition from the 
darkness by which we had just been enveloped to this 
display of brightness (for every lattice had a light) was 
most striking in effect; and, when I heard the bugles 
sounding, I was thankful to be assured of safety under 
the protection of the Sultan's troops ; — and my satisfac- 
tion was completed by overtaking Mr. P., from whom 
the darkness had divided me. 

We proceeded to the house of a Syrian, who, having 
settled here, acts as agent to a merchant of Jerusalem 
for the sale of cotton fabrics. On being ushered into the 
guest-chamber, where Arabs were seated in conclave, I 
was so exhausted that I fell down. Now, the Arab in- 
variably connects the fainting of an Englishman with 
drunkenness, and consequently, bursting into loud laugh- 
ter, they would not render me any assistance ; for which 
I was indebted to my friend, who was not overcome like 
myself, thanks to the easier paces of his horse. The fare 
provided for us here, though not sumptuous, was sufficient 
to carry us on to the morning. 

Though it was late, and the Arab seldom ventures out 
at night, our arrival, we soon came to see, was well 



SALT. 



93 



announced, several people calling to pay their respects to 
Mr. P. Among them was a handsome and accomplished 
young Syrian, who came with a copious story of his 
troubles. He had been appointed by the Bishop of 
Jerusalem to the post of schoolmaster at Salt. During 
a period of extreme distress he had lent £40 to a man, 
to enable him to purchase rice with, charging a fair per 
centage for the loan. From all we heard, it was a per- 
fectly fair and legitimate transaction. When the Arab 
was pressed for payment, which he sought to evade, he 
requited the Syrian's kindness by getting it bruited that 
he was in the habit of practising usury. This soon reached 
the ears of the son-in-law of the Bishop, a German 
missionary not remarkable for suavity of temper (who, 
by the way, has the unchallenged distribution of vast 
sums of money sent to him from gullible England) ; and 
he, accessible to the wily influences brought to bear upon 
him by the Arab, lost no time in depriving him of all 
local European sympathy, and finally in procuring his 
dismissal from the post; and there the poor fellow was, 
apparently a ruined man. He tolcl us he had been pro- 
mised by another missionary on Mount Lebanon that a 
collection should be set on foot to enable him to start on 
his own account ; but, when I remembered that gentleman 
was notoriously afflicted with a bad memory, I was not 
inclined to congratulate him on the brightness of his 
prospects. This case really excited my sympathy. The 
missionary, who is known to suffer from the liver com- 
plaint, is a most irritable man, and therefore ill qualified 
to conduct an investigation in a judicial spirit — not to say 



94 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



tliat lie is, by vice of temper, hardly the man to be a 
Christian exemplar ; and yet the poor Syrian's career of 
usefulness lay at the discretion of such a one to be. ruth- 
lessly cut short. His success in driving knowledge into 
the youthful Mahommedan mind was remarkable ; I was 
struck by the way he got the boys on ; and this only 
made me regret the more that missionary enterprise 
should be associated hereabouts with such unpromising 
elements. 

Early in the morning we had the honour of a visit from 
the Wdmekar, or Major of the town, — an Ethiopian of 
surpassing politeness whose dandyism, heedless of the 
violence of the contrast, arrayed itself in white European 
raiment — who expressed his surprise at our ride through 
Moab. We went out on a tour of inspection of Salt, but 
found it no easy matter to get about, owing to the 
position of the town being on the side of a rock. It is a 
very healthy place, and would be altogether unexcep- 
tionable if it were not for the accumulation of dung-heaps 
before the doors. I saw here a most beautiful breed of 
poultry, white and of the same thick-set shape as the 
silver pencilled Hamburgs. They are great layers, and 
make famous eating; — a breed that seems to be almost 
by itself, as I saw it only in one other place in the East. 

Our next care was to obtain a guide to put us on the 
right road to the Eiver Jordan, which is just twelve hours 
from Salt. 

As we got out of the town, our course lying through 
vine and fig gardens, a charming scene presented itself 
below — our first glimpse of the (as it is viewed from this 



SALT. 



95 



side) singular valley of the Jordan. We diverged from 
the road to see an old Bedouin sheikh. This great and 
distinguished man had a wonderfully patriarchal ap- 
pearance, the settled melancholy of his face bespeaking 
acute sorrow and mortified pride. In his day he exercised 
sway over (it is said) more than 70,000 Bedouin fol- 
lowers. After long setting the Sultan's troops at 
defiance and inflicting considerable damage upon them, 
his followers finally were defeated by the improved rifles 
with which the Turkish troops were supplied, and he 
himself was taken prisoner. After a long period of 
incarceration arrangements were made for his release 
under certain restrictions. All these restraints, coupled 
with the loss of power, converted the mighty, active, 
horse-riding sheikh into the poor, docile, sit-at-home old 
man. It did one's heart good to observe the profound 
respect and tenderness with which his sons — fine fellows 
worthy of such a sire — waited on the venerable hero. 
Grey hairs are honoured in Moab as they are not in 
places claiming to be the head-quarters of civilisation 
and all the virtues, where "Mrs. S. A. Allen's Hair 
Restorer/' and " the Balm of Columbia," reparative of 
Time's ravages, yield such fortunes to their spirited 
proprietors. We took coffee with the grand old chief, 
who sought no baksheesh, and then rode on. 

In our progress we passed a large field with about 
forty Arab ploughs at work; the bullocks, of a fawn 
colour, rather larger than usual. About four in the 
afternoon we got on to the plain of the valley, where the 
barley was growing in great luxuriance. After a long 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



ride across this plain, on which we seemed to make no 
impression, we reached some formations of white clay 
with salt deposits for their base, and with salt springs 
running between them. In many places the passage was 
very precipitous, and in the dark would be attended with 
great danger. As soon as we got through here, we 
came out into a well-irrigated district, the water being 
brought in courses from the Jordan, and we watched the 
Arabs letting in and shutting off the supply. The water 
was excellent, and was most acceptable to both our horses 
and ourselves after the salty dust we had so long en- 
dured. 

Here we heard the <( bul-bul," or Syrian nightingale. 
This was a jolly change for us, and, when we besides heard 
the chirping of numerous sparrows, their little notes of 
:c Cheer up ! 99 quite Anglicised us ; to which inspiriting 
elements I must add the sight of the Jordan, assuring us 
as it did that we had got out of the land of Moab and 
beyond the range of danger from those wild hordes, who 
may be said to be the most difficult of any barbarians in. 
the world to get on with. 



CHAPTEE VII. 



NABLOUS.— NAZARETH. -ACRE.— TYRE.— SIDOX.— 
BEYROUT. 

To enable us to set foot again on Syrian soil, we had to 
invoke the assistance of the Arab ferryman whose hut 
stands on the other bank. He did not respond to our 
shouts for his services for a long while ; but, when he did 
turn up, we soon effected the transit. 

We lost no time in availing ourselves of the presence 
of a few Bedouin tents nigh our landing-place, for the 
purchase of milk, which just then we were in frame to do 
justice to ; and, purchasing a kid, we had it dressed for 
us in the usual way [i.e. boiled). At the conclusion or 
our repast, we found that we could not obtain accom- 
modation for the night. Both the ferryman and the 
Bedouins positively refused to give us shelter, although 
the night was intensely cold ; so there was nothing for 

H 



9 8 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



us to do but, wrapping ourselves in our blankets, to camp 
out on the hard ground under the stars. And in the 
morning, when I woke with stiff joints, our inhospitable 
neighbours required payment for the permission they had 
given us to sleep (as best we could) sub Jove ! This was 
a claim I was in no humour, under the circumstances, to 
discharge, and I succeeded in letting them speedily 
understand that we were not to be trifled with. During 
the night, too, an Arab tried to steal our most precious 
possession — the small supply of rusks which we regarded 
as our Savings-Bank, to be invaded only on extreme 
emergency. These rusks were made expressly for our 
journey by a Greek baker at Gaza (they were the 
only ones to be had in Syria) ; and the ruffian who 
meditated their abreption from our saddle-bags tasted the 
quality of my stick about his person. 

Clearing out before six in the morning, we soon got 
well on our road to Nablous, which is a good 14 hours' 
ride hence. We were still in what is called the Valley of 
the Jordan, a well watered country in which the corn 
was just coming to ear and had a remarkably healthy 
look. The fields were alive with thousands upon thou- 
sands of sparrows, which the Arabs were doing their best 
with stone-slings to drive away ; and we put up many 
quail during the ride. For near four hours our way lay 
through groves of acacia, of which every individual tree 
seemed to be literally covered from top to bottom with 
sparrows' nests. Such an aggregation of sparrows I 
never before saw, and their chatter was so volumed by 
their numbers that it put conversation out of the ques- 



NAB LOUS. 



99 



tion. It was one vast Sparrow Colony ; and they were 
so impudently tame that you might almost put your hand 
upon them. And what their numbers emboldened them 
to do I witnessed soon after, in the expulsion of two 
sparrow-hawks that had been guilty of the rashness of 
visiting this quarter. They were mobbed by thousands 
upon thousands of the sparrows, who enveloped them as 
with a cloud in the air and drove the imprudent intruders 
away. 

On we went until we arrived at some caves, where we 
saw an Ethiopian Arab grinding corn — the first example 
that came under my observation of a man at this labour, 
which heretofore, as I noted, was done by women. This 
was a very solitary spot, one that offered special facilities 
for an attack upon us ; and we were not sorry, setting 
spurs to our horses, to leave the caves far behind. The 
district we rode through was well watered, the Arabs 
busily engaged in irrigating the ground. About three 
in the afternoon we made a short halt at a roadside village, 
at the entrance of which was an olive grove. Here eggs 
were to be had in great abundance ; and the Arabs most 
civilly insisted on our taking lebbin. There were some 
fine specimens of men in this village ; and indeed the 
tribes continued to be of marked superiority up to Nab- 
lous. Our road along here was very picturesque. We 
had just crossed a small stream hedged with oleanders on 
both sides, when we caught sight of Bedouin tents in the 
distance, and it was not long before we were pursued by 
several horsemen clamouring for baksheesh. On express- 
ing our inability to comply with their requisition on the 

h2 



100 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



score of our being only poor hadjis, they vented their 
incredulity in violent gesticulation. Seeing that this 
expenditure of animal energy made no impression upon 
us, their chief (a handsomer Syrian I never met) began to 
laugh, and asked us to allow him to escort us to Nablous, 
for which his charge would be only £4 ; — an offer we 
refused to entertain. They kept behind us, pestering, 
for some time, until their patience was exhausted, and 
we were suffered to proceed in quiet. 

We passed a cave-house — combination of mud and 
rock — in which, apart from mankind, lived a Syrian, with 
his wife and son, whose means were represented by a 
numerous flock of goats. We rode up to it and got some 
lebbin, for which we thankfully paid. Hence our ride 
was up a very steep ascent, and, after skirting another 
beautifully situated Syrian village encompassed with olive 
trees, we got on to a plain, whence we fancied we could 
descry Nablous, rightly, as we we reassured by a Syrian 
who had been made a missionary, whom we met soon 
after, like ourselves, bound to Nablous. As we ap- 
proached the town, we passed the New Turkish Barracks, 
and the soldiers invited us with signs to dismount and sit 
at meals with them. We were rather tired by our heavy 
ride, and this generous display of hospitality was very 
provocative of appetite ; but we resolved, when we did 
get out of our saddles, to do so for good for the night, 
and therefore pursued our weary way. A vast number 
of boys and girls (all of whom no doubt would have 
escorted us) positively shrieked at us to go and look at 
Jacob's well; and these were succeeded by hundreds of 



NAB LOUS. 



101 



lepers begging alms, whom we had considerable difficulty 
in keeping off. Throughout Syria a strong feeling prevails 
that the disease is contagious ; and, as they are forbidden 
the town, they haunt the outskirts and plague travellers. 
Escaping from these tormentors, we were not long in 
reaching Nablous, our access being gained through very 
narrow and dirty streets ; and we got a warm welcome 
from the wife (an Englishwoman) of our missionary 
friend, who proposed to entertain us during our stay. 

Nablous, as is well known, is one of the oldest existing 
towns in Syria, and contains one or two quaint examples 
of Eastern architecture. I was struck by the abundance 
of fine vegetables grown here, the soil being very good.* 
This contributes greatly to the comfort of domestic life 
and the general health of the people. Here, as in almost 
all other parts of Syria, the chief ambition of the Arabs 
is to acquire small shops, in which they set up as traders 
on their own account, with no little pride as to their com- 
mercial position in the world. The capital needed for 
these efforts at independence does not exceed many 
shillings ; and, once in their little boxes of shops, they 
seem to pass their lives in a state of perfect content- 
ment. 

During our visit here, a great sensation was caused by 
the violent conduct of some Turkish officials who had 
demanded double the amount of taxes due by two needy 

* Mount Carniel is covered with the prickly pear, the fruit of 
which the natives relish. 



102 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



men. The poor fellows either would not, or could not, 
satisfy the unjust claim ; whereupon they were seized, 
bound, and beaten. Their oppressors, however, little 
imagined what would follow. Impunity had so long em- 
boldened them that the thought of their victims asserting 
themselves never troubled them. But the two men 
quietly escaped to the coast, took the steamer to Con- 
stantinople, and, taking advantage of one of the 
opportunities presented by the Sultan's procession to the 
mosque for prayer, rushed into his presence and 
fortunately secured the delivery of their petition of 
complaint into his own hands. The Sultan read it, and 
directed the institution of an inquiry into the conduct of 
the officials, which resulted in their degradation. Great 
was the agitation of Nablous thereat. 

Our horses having been carefully attended to in view 
of the long ride before us to Nazareth, we got off early 
in the morning; — it would take thirteen hours to reach 
our destination. Every village we came up to was 
introduced by its grove of olives, whose patriarchal ap- 
pearance harmonised with that of their owners. I thought 
we should have had some trouble to shake off an Arab 
who came after us on horseback out of one of these 
villages; but the sight of other passengers along the 
road protected us against the possibility of harm. Apply- 
ing for shelter at another, we were angrily bidden to 
be off. We should have been glad of the break in the 
journey ; but, as it was not to be, we had to continue 
our ride to Nazareth. The night being dark, and the 
path just before we ascended into the town being both 



NAZARETH. 103 

slippery and rocky, my friend's horse, sure-footed as he 
was, rolled over — luckily without hurt to either rider or 
animal ; and our position was not the most comfortable 
in the world. Fortunately we were very near the town, 
on finding ourselves in which we made straight for the 
Monastery ; the monks of which may be presumed to 
belong to the most rigid order of recluses, for these 
gentlemen kept us waiting an hour before they attended 
to us. We had disturbed them at their devotions ! This 
was an unpromising beginning • and the sum of our ill 
luck was reached when, by reason of its being the season 
of Lent, coffee was all that was offered to us ; we could 
get nothing to eat. But for the rusks we had in store, 
I don't know how we should have managed. It happened 
that we were extremely hungry, and really required food 
after our exhausting- day's ride ; but we had to appease 
hunger as best we could; satisfying it was out of the 
question. I trust it will not be set down to malice when 
I add the information that these monks were a refractory 
set deported from Italy to Nazareth by way of penance ; 
and evidences abounded of the severity of the discipline 
to which they were subjected. However this may be, 
some among them were very agreeable fellows ; and in 
the course of travel through Syria you will find many 
who have been shoemakers, tailors, and the like, who 
have managed with influence to get sent out here, where 
they lead lives of dirt and idleness. Their country, I 
cannot help thinking, profited by their absence. In the 
words of Barrington's famous prologue, their patriotism 
is attested by the fact that 



104 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



" They left their country for their country's good." 

Our exhaustion secured tlie benefit of sound sleep, and 
in the morning we set out for Acre. We were just 
twelve liours without adequate food. This is the loveliest 
ride in all Syria, the beautiful woodland scenery brightened 
with spring flowers, and diversified with good crops of 
corn, fine bullocks, and a magnificent breed of Arab 
horses, chiefly chestnut. On effecting the descent, we 
got on to the plain of Acre, the soil of which, black and 
rich, is the best in Syria. Stretching away, on either 
side of us, were endless fields of wheat coming into ear, 
and of barley \ and with the glass I could descry the 
minarets at Acre, and began to long for its delicious 
sea-air. As we rode on, we met great caravans of camels 
newly arrived from some far interior district, laden with 
corn. It was a wonderfully pleasant day ; and the 
distant glimpse of the cheerful blue of the Mediterranean 
quite invigorated our spirits (which sadly needed the 
tonic) with the certain knowledge that soon we should 
be able to buy some sort of food. By way of anticipa- 
tion, however, we overtook an old man with baskets of 
oranges on his donkey, and we luxuriated in the fruit, 
the acid of which was highly agreeable after our parched 
ride. 

Acre abuts, as it were, into the sea ; and crossing a 
portcullis we went through a very heavy gateway guarded 
by troops, for be it remembered that the worst criminals 
are sent here from all parts of Syria. Somewhat afraid 
that we should not be admitted, we made all possible 



ACRE. 105 

taste towards the Monastery, and it was only after a 
long discussion amongst the irnmates that we got in. 
The fare they gave us was wretched, and the wine 
execrable ; but we were in no condition to be nice or 
exacting in our requirements \ and, had stewed Syrian 
donkey been set before us, we should have addressed 
ourselves energetically to the stout dish. We made up 
our minds not to stop long here, where peace and good- 
will evidently did not reign among the brethren ; — those 
priests seemed to be always quarrelling ; and it did not 
require any very strong mental effort to separate our- 
selves from them. 

The court-yard of the Monastery was filled with mules, 
donkeys, horses, goats and camels; and no little amuse- 
ment did we derive from the spectacle of this mis- 
cellaneous gathering of animals, from our post of observa- 
tion on the verandah ; whence I employed myself in 
throwing stones at the muleteers who attempted to steal 
the barley from our horses to feed their animals with. 
Had we not seen to the horses ourselves, they would 
have got but little. Plunder, plunder is the order of 
the day throughout Syria, and you have to be perpetually 
on the alert to prevent it in every department of life. 

It was most unfortunate for us that we should be 
travelling in monkish latitudes while Lent was on. To 
complete the story of our discomfort here, I must record 
that carrot soup was the provision for our wants, and 
dearly did we pay for it in the morning, when we settled 
with the monks. 



io6 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



Bound to Tyre, our course ran through the orange 
gardens of Acre, which do not equal those of Sidon ; 
where both the oranges and lemons are very good. The 
temperature of the morning was delightful, the heat 
subdued by a fine breeze from the sea, and the perfume 
from the gardens lent an additional charm to the ride ; 
and I am not ashamed to confess that, taking a more 
material view of things, I looked forward with eagerness 
to proper refreshment of the inner man at Tyre. Per- 
haps the acknowledgment will be voted highly unpoetical 
by the sentimental reader, and perhaps I really am not as 
impressible as I should be by the delicate influences of 
scenery; but it may be questioned if an empty stomach 
is exactly the qualification for enjoying these pleasures. 
Kot to put too fine a point on it, these long rides make 
one long for food. 

Tyre was visible for some distance, and as we passed on 
our way we saw several fishermen. They are a hardy race 
of men, their occupation accounting for their healthy 
character ; and it was interesting to watch them throwing 
their nets, at which they are great adepts, their skill being 
the result of long and severe training. Fishing is the 
principal occupation of the place ; so we were confident 
of a hearty fish supper, if we failed to obtain anything 
else. On arriving at our destination, an Arab took us 
through an arch, and, when our horses had climbed up 
some steps, we were introduced to an empty room which 
he began to sweep out for our reception, while others 
busied themselves in bringing in charcoal to make up 
a fire in the middle of it. (There is a large charcoal 



SIDON. 



107 



industry in the neighbourhood.) The fire duly kindled 
and other dispositions affecting our comfort made, I 
sallied forth to buy the fish,-- -which was singularly good ; 
and for the first time for a long while we had a sufficiency 
of food. Nor did we neglect to look after our horses, 
which, being tied close to our door, we had the satisfac- 
tion of knowing were not defrauded of their well earned 
food. 

The ride to Sidox was also exceedingly interesting. 
For nearly the whole way we kept on the beach, to which 
was wafted the delicious perfume of the orange groves ; 
and, meeting a company of Turkish troops, we received 
the courteous salutes of the whole party. On our arrival 
at Sidon, which may be said to be a sister town to Tyre, 
we put up at an Arab caravanseray, where we secured a 
bit of mutton and good olives. The room in which we 
lodged was full of natives playing backgammon, jabber- 
ing and wrangling over their various losses and gains. 
Gambling, as I have before remarked, is a prevalent vice 
all over the East. 

Starting next day for Beyeout, we quickly got into the 
region of the Mountains of Lebanon. The cultivation of 
the mulberry is conducted here on a very large scale and 
with the greatest particularity, on terraces. Every year 
the tree is severely pruned in all its branches^ which, 
stripped of their leaves, serve to feed the young silk- 
worms. In less than ten days the tree begins to shoot 
out again. The culture of the silk- worm has the greatest 



io8 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



attention directed to it. From strict inquiry I learned 
that the average quantity of silk realised by each grower 
is £16 a year. Their management of the silk-worm is 
most scientific, stimulated as it is by the condition that 
whole Arab families depend for their subsistence on the 
produce. 

Like all mountain scenery, that around here is very 
fine, but nothing extraordinary. On one or two points 
of the Lebanon the snow continues frozen all the year 
round. It is transported by an enterprising merchant to 
Beyrout, where it finds a ready sale among the ships 
that arrive at that port, and it is also largely consumed 
in the mountain villages, in which it is highly esteemed 
as a febrifuge. The mention of snow irresistibly reminds 
one of the famous iced drinks made by the Arabs, of 
which the very thought causes the mouth to water. As 
a rule, it is known that Mahommedans object to the use 
of ice ; but in these places, where the heat sometimes is 
very distressing, they wisely make an exception in its 
favour. 

A large proportion of the population of Lebanon con- 
sists of Christian Maronites (under the protection of 
France) and Catholics, who possess ample monasteries. 
The Druses too abound in these mountains. They are 
the most deceitful of all Oriental creedists, worse even 
than the Copts, being influenced by an utterly unnatural 
avarice which impels men and women alike to the adop- 
tion of any means, be they what they may, for getting 
money. I have seen several instances of the most acute 
craft employed in compassing their ends. Robberies and 



BEYROUT. 



109 



murders frequently occur, and are generally traced to 
the Druses. 

Eeligious life here is varied by the eccentricities of a 
missionary, who strives (most successfully) to mitigate 
the evils of existence in a very comfortable abode. 
One day he leans to admiration of the Plymouth 
Brethren ; the next he sympathises with the Latin 
Church ; and so on ; his opinions apparently not having 
had time to crystallise themselves into definite convic- 
tions. All creeds in their turn, therefore, expend their 
ridicule upon him. But his chief function seems to be 
that of Head Flunkey to a lady who gets £11,000 a 
year from England for the education of about 60 Syrian 
girls, — a glorious rate of remuneration per head ! Her 
house cost £30,000 to build. It is a palace equal to that 
of the Sultan at Constantinople; and, when first I ob- 
served the marble walls of the lovely place, a sense of 
misdirected energy overcame me, and I asked myself in 
a fine fit of moral enthusiasm why I had not applied my 
time to the lucrative profession of a Missionary. Certainly 
there are people in this world who don't fail in working 
out at least one half of the puzzling speculation connected 
with the late Dr. Binney's name, " Is it possible to make 
the best of both worlds ? " ; and I must reckon this 
lady in that select class. 

Presenting myself in my ordinary travelling attire, I 
seemed somewhat to outrage this high-minded dame's 
sense of propriety by the intrusion. Had I exhibited 
visible tokens of wealth on my person, my reception no 
doubt would have been different ; but my rough exterior 



X 





no 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



forbade hope of baksheesh for the school, and her de- 
meanour was accommodated to the despair of that object. 
I was determined, however, to inspect the various works 
of art contained in the sumptuous edifice ; and I therefore 
hastened to relieve her mind of the fear with which it 
was clouded, that I might be importing into the precincts 
entomological specimens from the Bedouin sheikhs of the 
wilderness, by assuring her that my clothes had been 
properly baked, and that the cracking of the poor 
insects was distinctly heard in the oven, so she need be 
under no apprehension as to her establishment being 
increased. For the sake of all concerned, I do trust that 
this school will be thoroughly overhauled. It is scanda- 
lous that the money so liberally provided for the high 
purpose of education should have application so wasteful 
as well as so eminently calculated to encourage idleness. 
The system of inspection in vogue is unworthy of the 
name. Those who are sent for the purpose soon have 
their critical faculties dulled by social influences ; the 
most flattering accounts are circulated and impressed 
with the weight of authority, and facts and figures do not 
obtain due recognition. The very statement that sixty 
girls represent an annual expenditure of eleven thousand 
pounds at once condemns the system pursued ; and I may 
add, as a small illustration of the current extravagance, 
that one item is £500 a year paid to a Dutchman as 
Secretary, just as if the work could not be discharged 
without that aid. This is one of many places in the 
East where, quite unsuspected by good, easy, charitable 
Britons, people help one another in the laborious office 



BEYROUT. 



in 



of doing nothing. Seriously, when one reflects on the 
sacrifices made at home to enable heads of households to 
support these institutions, no words can be too strong in 
reprobation of waste so stupendous. 

The appointments of the house are most sumptuous, 
with frescoes painted by Italian artists, and marble 
floors ; and the cookery is in keeping with the rest 
of the establishment, at least for the first table ; the 
governesses being lodged and boarded separately, in 
the detached school-house, where it may be safely assumed 
that they do not fare so well. The carriage is of the 
best Long Acre build, and is drawn by a pair of stylish 
Arab horses. All the surroundings, in fact, bespeak the 
state of people in England with £10,000 a year. I 
wonder if the Earl of Shaftesbury is aware of all this 
waste of means, and what he thinks of a system of educa- 
tion which culminates in the marrying of Syrian girls 
arrayed in white satin and pearls. Now this was a 
spectacle I saw myself ; and the justification urged 
against objections raised to the preposterous and hurtful 
exhibition was that it was a great encouragement for 
other girls to go in for civilisation, to be married in white 
satin and pearls ! The occupier indeed has quite a mania 
for amusing herself with every variety of gorgeous shows 
— show house, show carriage, show weddings, etc. Does 
the British public know that it pays so dearly for the 
gratification of her expensive tastes ? And I am not sure 
that the girls gain so very much by the adoption of this 
vaunted " civilisation." This I do know, that they lose 
all the modesty of demeanour inseparably associated with 



112 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



the Oriental character. Without the seclusion imposed 
by their former mode of life, and being no longer veiled, 
they become very forward in manners, and are far from 
being appreciated in their own homes as of yore. 

When any distinguished traveller calls, the missionary 
is sent for to do honour to the occasion; but, as my 
exterior sufficiently denoted my inferiority, I had not the 
inestimable advantage of his copious dissertations on the 
serenity of things in general and of this establishment in 
particular. Nor was I invited to partake of its hos- 
pitality. " No baksheesh ! " was only too legible on the 
person of the reader's humble servant. 

The master of the establishment claims a title, and 
uses the arms, I believe, of an illustrious house. He 
may frequently be seen running about Beyrout. One 
day, as I was walking with a charming friend of 
mine, he surprised us by suddenly addressing us 
with — "1 presume you are English gentlemen?" 
I answered that we were ; whereupon he added — 
" And Christian men?" Whether this inquiry was 
made with an eye to baksheesh, I do not know. I 
suppose it would have conducted to that issue, had I been 
disposed to mouth stale platitudes on the topic ; but, as 
I was inclined to look upon his accosting us thus in the 
public street as a gross liberty, I resented it by asking 
him if he desired to constitute himself our spiritual 
adviser. This irrepressible person was then good enough 
to inform us that he was a devoted student of Holy 
Scripture. The pertinency of this bit of biography I 
failed to see ; so my reply was that, considering we were 



BEYROUT. 



utter strangers, we begged to be spared the infliction of 
such talk; and that a public street was hardly the place 
in which to conduct a theological controversy. Our 
firmness was too much for the eminent student of Scrip- 
ture, who, slapping his coat-pockets (" No baksheesh ! " 
again, observe), exploded into frantic gestures ; which 
necessitated the remark that the ostentatious profession 
of religion was no criterion of its genuineness, and that, 
even as a lady habitually wearing diamonds and pearls 
every day induces suspicion of their value, this sickening 
cant about religion did not raise the professors of god- 
liness in the estimation of thinking men and women : 
and, elevating our hats most respectfully, we bowed 
ourselves away from one of the established nuisances of 
Beyrout. 

By way of agreeable change, let me turn to the 
American Mission, at the head of which stands Dr. 
Thompson, a writer of great celebrity on Biblical litera- 
ture in connection with Syria, and as pleasant and kind a 
gentleman as one could wish to meet. Most of the 
members of this body combine CD. with M.D., and the 
union of qualifications produces the happiest results. I 
must refer with unqualified admiration to the College 
(founded by the liberality of a New York merchant, who 
contributed the munificent sum of £10,000) for the 
education of young Syrians for the medical profession, 
for which several of them have shown great aptitude. 
All the professors are, without exception, Americans, 
and speak Arabic fluently. I used frequently to go to it 
to witness their mode of instruction. Every branch of 

I 



ii4 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



medical knowledge is efficiently taught, and all the 
arrangements are as complete and satisfactory as human 
ingenuity can make them. Talk of civilisation ! These 
men are the diffusers of its refinements and blessings ; 
and the world is under obligations to them which are 
not easy of repayment. I am by no means inclined to 
make invidious distinctions where all merit every com- 
mendation ; but I must specially refer to Dr. Post, the 
Professor of Botany, who, besides being the author of 
several valuable works, has been at the pains of trans- 
lating, for the benefit of native students, several treatises 
into Arabic ; in connection with which fact I may 
mention, as an additional example of the helpful 
resources of the Mission, that these books have been 
printed at their own printing establishment. In the 
face of these results, obtained on an income of only 
£4000 a year, what can we think of windy preach- 
ments about religion, and the white satin theory of 
civilisation maintained at so monstrous a cost, as we 
have seen above ? 

Of Dr. Post's medical skill and humanity I had personal 
experience, when I was suffering from great physical 
prostration superinduced by an eruption of Syrian boils^ 
which running into each other inflicted excruciating 
pain. 

There are one or two hotels in Beyrout infested with 
hangers-on who demand baksheesh at every turn you take. 
With the exception of the French hotel, the owners of 
these establishments have all been dragomen themselves, 
who have accumulated large sums at the expense of their 



BEYROUT. 



"5 



helpless victims, the travellers; and they look with in- 
dulgent eyes upon a system endeared to them by early 
associations. 

Meeting my friends the Andrews again, I rode out with 
them to the Dog River, a distance of five miles, whence 
a company has been formed to conduct the water into 
Beyrout. Whether it will answer remains to be seen. 
Taking advantage of the sands, Mrs. A., an accomplished 
horsewoman, challenged me to contest a race with her 
over a given distance for the stake of two guineas, she 
undertaking to beat me by two lengths, her excellent 
husband being appointed umpire. I could not refuse to 
comply with so provoking a challenge., and we went off 
neck-and-neck for a long way; but to her credit be it 
recorded that she finally shook me off and carried away 
the prize even more easily than she conditioned. 

Beyrout is the Brighton of Syria, in which there always 
is a large number of resident European families, and 
social pretensions, having had time to mature and stiffen 
into prominence, are therefore, as might have been 
anticipated, most amusingly developed. To one of a 
satirically meditative frame of mind nothing could be 
more instructive than the procession of equipages every 
evening on the Damascus road. The reader shall have a 
peep or two thereat. 

First there goes the carriage of a man whose dignity is 
of the most self-appreciating sort. Of mean birth and 
consequently ill-qualified to deal with gentlemen, his vul- 
garity was strengthened by domestic service, in early life, 
with a Russian family, which led to his marrying a 

1 2 



Tl6 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



Russian. This served him well for future advancement. 
During tlie Russian war interpreters were required for 
the Army. He was secured and employed as a spy for 
England; and, as he escaped without being shot, he 
found his way into the Commissariat department, and 
ultimately reached the pinnacle of his glory as Consul. 
It is easy to understand in which direction his sympathies 
really lie ; and at the Consulate, as might be expected, 
the khavasses are most uncivil ; they do not care even to 
affect the show of politeness. 

Then there is the turn-out of the Irish apothecary and 
his red-haired wife, who rates her position as second only 
to that of the Consul's "lady." She was the daughter 
of a pawnbroker in Cork ; and a pawnbroker, thanks 
to the perversity of mankind who are cruelly oblivious of 
their obligations to him, is not esteemed socially as high 
as he perhaps deserves to be. Douglas Jerrold, observing 
on the tacit compact in society to affect ignorance of the 
existence of the Pawnbroker, has noted that, while men 
are prone to vaunt the rectitude and the talents of their 
tradesmen, speaking of "My wine-merchant," "my boot- 
maker," even " my attorney/' no one yet startled the 
delicacy of company with "My pawnbroker j " but he is 
generous enough to admit that, vulgar and common-place 
as the pawnbroker is to-day, yet he had "picturesque 
forefathers." And why should not the daughters, when 
they get the chance, try to do something in the "pic- 
turesque " line where no suspicion prevails of their origin ? 
And, to show that her airs are of the highest class, she 
positively affects to ignore the existence of an accom- 



BEYROUT. 



117 



plished lady, who is first cousin of an English duchess. 
Such are the startling triumphs of " cheek ;; ! 

Then may be seen the wife of a trader in calico, radiant 
with finery and particularly brave in bonnets ; and then 
come an old Irishwoman or two, painted up to the eyes, 
and by no means disposed to think " small beer '* of 
themselves, in spite of all the cruel ravages of Time. 

These, and others of that ilk, assert a vulgar promi- 
nence in Society, and an observer cannot avoid noticing 
them ; but there are not a few families I could name, 
which preserve the graces, virtues, and accomplishments 
befitting English homes, in violent contrast with aspiring 
gentility. There are several gentlemen in Beyrout, too, 
whose kindness and attention to me under most trying 
circumstances I could wish to particularise ; but I 
am sure the record would not be agreeable to their 
modesty. 

The natural beauties of Beyrout are not to be exhausted 
in a day. The scenery is both various and ample ; and 
it was not a little interesting to see the curious Arab 
houses ensconced within the luxuriant mulberry foliage. 

I witnessed the arrival of the new Governor of Syria, 
whose head-quarters are generally fixed at Damascus. 
He was the successor of the official whose outrageous 
behaviour to Captain Burton was the occasion of his 
removal to Constantinople ; and I have no hesitation in 
pronouncing him to have been the fattest and roundest- 
shouldered Turk I ever saw. He had a vast harem, as 
became so gross a creature ; and the ladies also partook 
of the grossness of their lord and master, who evidently 



n8 ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 

recognised fat as contributing to the complete formation 
of beauty. Laziness proclaimed itself unmistakably in 
liis countenance. He looked to be exactly the man who 
could — and would — be lazy with all his might. Such was 
the extent of his retinue, of his pipe-bearers and his 
coffee-makers and other ministers to Oriental state and 
luxury, that local resources in the shape of carriages, 
carts, horses and mules were taxed to the full — being 
forcibly enlisted in the service — for their transport to 
Damascus. It made me shudder to think that this fellow 
could, if he chose, wield his despotic power without 
restraint, for from his decisions the natives have no 
appeal. 

There was a famous sun-worshipper here whose achieve- 
ments in falconry were truly amazing. Within ten days 
of the capture of a hawk, he rendered the bird perfectly 
tame, and trained it to the capture of any quantity of 
quail in a given time. Early in the morning, and late at 
night, he was to be seen in the company of his birds, one 
or two of which, newly caught, he always had on his arm, 
stroking them and addressing them with soothing terms. 
In fact, he was never away from them. They ate with 
him, and were subject to the influence of his presence 
during the whole day ; and at night even they were not 
removed from his observation, roosting as they did above 
his head. The effect of this continuous and patient dis- 
cipline of kindness was visible in the reduction to com- 
plete submission of these wild birds of prey ; off which, 
during the process, he seldom took his eyes, the orbed 
lustre of which seemed to subdue their innate ferocity. 



BEYROUT. 



119 



The eye I believe to be the chief agent in their taming ; 
and intelligent Arabs will tell you that, either for evil or 
for good, the eye is far more potent than the tongue, in 
point of attractiveness. In all their songs, the eye either 
of man or of woman is the theme of ideal fascination; 
and this is specially observable in the choruses of Syrian 
songs. In a conversation I held with this man, he em- 
phasised the popular belief by inquiring of me if I did 
not know that, when the eagle found the dead body of 
a man or a camel, it applied itself first to picking out 
the eyes. The whole animal creation, he maintained, was 
to be governed by the eye of man. 

About a week before leaving Beyrout, I had the oppor- 
tunity of witnessing a magnificent illumination in honour 
of the birth-day of the Prophet. Two Turkish men-of- 
war were in the harbour at the time, and their brightened 
outlines lent a pleasing variety to the brilliant scene, 
which was still further intensified by the Lebanon moun- 
tains on the opposite side, where every Mahommedan 
house was lighted up. It was quite a fairy spectacle, 
which was highly favoured by the night. It began at six 
in the evening and lasted all night. The illuminations at 
the Turkish public offices were most gorgeous, and the 
salvoes of artillery pealing at intervals, their echoes 
taken up by the mountains, gave one quite an exciting 
and delightful sensation. 



CHAPTEE VIII. 



ISMAILIA. — SUEZ. 

I now step on board a little steamer bound for Port 
Said, to take the Canal for Abyssinia. 

On my return to Port Said, which occurred on a 
Sunday, I was rejoiced to resume my intimacy with my 
kind friend, Mr. Webster, who had engaged to give me a 
letter of introduction to the Agents at Suez, with a view 
to securing my passage through the Eed Sea. It was 
quite refreshing to me to be in his society again ; his 
brightness of mind and cheerfulness of disposition infused 
new life into me ; and the memory of his goodness to me 
is not likely to be soon effaced. The Post-office boat 
conveyed me to Ismailia. 

Ismaiua is the loveliest place in Egypt. It is entirely 
French, it having been the prime object of M. de Lesseps 



ISM A I LI A, 



121 



to lavish all the attention and expense lie could upon the 
place. The creation is five hundred times more mar- 
vellous than Mr. Mechi's farm at Tiptree. From an 
absolute desert it has been converted into a smiling 
garden, the vegetable productiveness of which is pro- 
verbial. Of course these results could not have been 
obtained but for the forced labour which was to be had 
without any limit, for bringing in fresh water. Several 
fine edifices have been erected, together with a magnifi- 
cent palace for the Viceroy. In the lake opposite Ismalia 
some very wonderful fish — of various sorts, which come 
in at both ends of the Canal, from the Eed Sea and the 
Mediterranean — are caught, principally by the Greek 
fishermen. It has been ascertained that the Eed 
Sea shark has gone through into the Mediterranean, and 
(vice versa) its Mediterranean cousin into the Red Sea. 
As soon as sufficient have been caught, an auction takes 
place, of which only a fourth of the proceeds goes to the 
fisherman, while the rest is appropriated by the Khedive ; 
and not unfrequently I believe that, when it is an Arab 
fisherman, the whole is confiscated upon some pretext or 
another. As an instance of the revenue thus obtained, I 
may mention that I have known a fish fetch six shillings 
at Zagazig, and ten shillings at Cairo, the expense of 
transit being so heavy. A permanent memorial of the 
Empress Eugenie's visit at the opening of the Canal 
survives in the chateau built for her reception. Her 
gracious courtesy and affability of manner to all who were 
privileged to approach her will long be remembered here ; 
and History will not fail to record that such was her 



122 



ORIEXTAL ZIGZAG. 



beauty at the time that it dazzled the eyes even of the 
cold and indifferent Mahonmiedan, who termed her " the 
Angel of Light. " 

On my arrival at Snz, everything seemed a perfect 
desert; a sense of desolation seemed to oppress me; 
and it was not until I had tasted of the comforts of the 
hotel ; and made the acquaintance of some young English- 
men in the Telegraph Service, that I felt a relief. And 
it is but fair to acknowledge that, but for the valuable 
assistance of Mr. McOollonghj who kindly acted as my 
agent in the matter of procuring provisions for Abyssinia, 
I should not have found my course quite as free from 
difficulties as it was rendered by his masteiy of the 
languages and his thorough familiarity with Eastern 
affairs. I must also commemorate the hearty kindness of 
Mr. Henry "Williams, Engineer-in-chief to the Khedive's 
Steam Navy, 

My abode at the Hotel d' Orient, of which a French- 
woman was the proprietress, was notable chiefly for the 
domestic disturbances which may be said to have formed 
the standing bill of fare. Whatever else was wanting — 
and not unfrequently a good many things were wanting — 
rows with the servants abounded, and my languor was 
roused sometimes by the stirring spectacle of the resolute 
lady in pursuit of a refractory wench with a stout broom- 
stick. On those days I soon came to learn that our 
chances of getting any dinner were very slender. As an 
example of the highly philosophic way in which, under 
such distressing circumstances, we comported ourselves, 



SUEZ. 123 

I may say that we were fain to get what satisfaction we 
could from the shade of a bower of some French creeper 
which stood before the hotel, which of course had a most 
absurd fountain in the middle of it, — for the French 
abroad appear to be quite unable to do without fountains 
of some sort, — and there, lenti in umbra, we tried very 
hard to forget our anxieties and privations. 

There is a Hospital here under the charge of M. Le 
Blon, established by the government for the provision 
of relief to Algerian pilgrims bound to Mecca. They 
proceed by this route in thousands, and, as no small pro- 
portion of them succumb to their painful exertions on 
the way, the doctor's duties often are very heavy. 

A visit to the Dock-yards only impressed me with the 
conviction that anything might be done anywhere, under 
even the most unfavourable conditions, with the facility 
of obtaining labour in Egypt \ and I was not disposed to 
go into raptures over the "enterprise" of the French 
company in converting that extent of ground into docks, 
in the presence of that unquestionable fact. As we all 
know, 92,000 men were always employed in digging the 
Suez Canal, and every inch of the soil so disturbed was 
taken away in baskets upon the backs of the poor 
wretches, who for food were supplied only with Egyptian 
beans. From their numerous skeletons and skulls, un- 
covered by the winds of the Desert from their shallow 
cavities, it is easy to see that they died at their slavery 
like rotten sheep ; and it is notorious that they paid that 
tribute to civilization on the largest scale. To get this 
abour, the simple measure was adopted of sending an 



124 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG, 



armed convoy into the adjacent villages, and seizing in- 
discriminately all the able-bodied inhabitants. Even the 
sons of sheikhs were not exempted from the operation 
of this ruthless rule, unless indeed they purchased their 
freedom with handsome baksheesh, — which, of course, 
went not into the public treasury, but into the private 
and most capacious pockets of the officers in command of 
the impressing forces, — exactly as things are managed 
in Egypt down to the present day. At the end of their 
labours, I believe some minute sum was paid to the poor 
devils ; and the historical statement of the case stands 
somewhat thus : — France had the honour and glory (and 
all the rest of it) of the transaction ; the Egyptians had 
the misery of forced and cruelly oppressive labour ; and 
M. de Lesseps and the Viceroy had the entire profits. I 
advance not a syllable against the vast usefulness of the 
enterprise to England, whose commercial interests it 
cannot but promote ; but, as an achievement of engineer- 
ing skill, it cannot compete, in my estimation, with the 
Serra Eailway in Brazil, from Santos to San Paulo; 
where the most perplexing difficulties have been over- 
come by the genius of my friend, Mr. Pox. M. de 
Lesseps having achieved what had been pronounced 
impossible by every engineer in England, i.e. having cut 
the canal through the isthmus of Suez and so united the 
Eed Sea with the Mediterranean, he has of course 
entitled himself to the distinction of being regarded as 
one of the foremost marvels of the age ; and the lapse of 
time will only serve to magnify his well earned reputa- 
tion. It may be interesting to mention that the opera- 



SUEZ. 



125 



tion of filling the great lake in the middle of the Canal 
took six weeks, during which the greatest anxiety 
prevailed as to its accomplishment. At the Docks I had 
the misfortune to witness an accident that befell an 
Egyptain labourer who was carrying a great tray of 
weights on his head. His foot slipping, he dropped 
down a steep embankment and smashed his face and 
skull fearfully. It made a sad impression on me ; but as 
for the Arab bystanders ! They simply rubbed their 
hands and ejaculated the time-consecrated formula — God 
is great, and Mahommed is his prophet ! This to me was 
a striking illustration of the devotional frame of mind 
which quietly takes things as they come as being neces- 
sarily all right. Fatalism clearly is not without its 
compensatory advantages. It may not be a whip to 
progress ; but there is a Stoic patience of evil which is 
not to be omitted from the calculation. Virtue is passive 
as well as active ; and the eternal fitness of things is 
vindicated by the spirit of submission in Egypt, where it 
surely is not surprising that death should be robbed of 
its terrors, living as the people do perpetually in expecta- 
tion of the bastinado, and in one unmitigated series of 
privation. And it is curious to observe how this feel- 
ing operates in reduction of the frightful hardships of 
their existence. I remember an instance of a young man 
of 19 being most severely bastinadoed, so that he could 
not sit down. When he complained to his father of the 
punishment he had suffered, the old man was quite col- 
lected, went on smoking his pipe, and at last inquired if 
it was a Bey or a khimekar who had had him basti- 



12 5 



ORIEXTAL ZIGZAG. 



nadoed. "When he learned that it was a Bey, the old man 
was satisfied. (: 1 feel honoured/' said he, " and you. 
though the pains be great, must not think it a disgrace, 
seeing that so great a man took the trouble to have you 
chastised/' The young man, upon this, turned round 
with an admiring gaze at his lower extremities, and 
seemed to reconcile himself somehow to the conviction, 
paternally impressed upon his mind, that matters 
after all were not quite so bad as they looked and felt. 
But he appeared as though he had sat upon a sharp 
gridiron. 

The population of Suez embraces a large proportion of 
the worst offscourings of the Levant ; but I must not fail 
to record that there were some of the very best specimens 
of Englishmen I ever met in the whole course of my 
travels. 

I had now to present myself at the Divan, ai Govern- 
ment office, for the purpose of getting my ticket for 
Abyssinia. Here I saw Mr. West, the English Consul, of 
whose civility I can speak with pleasure ; and I do trust 
that, at the expiry of his term of office, he will be 
succeeded by a man who will equally have at heart 
the interests of British subjects. Subsequently I paid 
my respects at the Consulate and called upon ]\Irs. 
West, who gave me a very kind reception. She was 
the widow of a schoolmaster in Cairo, whom her 
second husband served as a pupil-teacher; and Mr. 
West, who conducted the school for some time after 
the death of his principal, had the privilege of educating 
Nuba Pasha, whom I do not regard as reflecting credit on 



SUEZ. 



127 



his tutor, although lie taught him to speak English 
perfectly. 

Local society is greatly indebted to the gentlemen 
belonging to the Telegraph Service for their amateur 
theatrical exertions, which once a fortnight break the dull 
uniformity of the place. The " star " actor is Mr. 
Mitchell, and the value of Mr. Durrant as general 
manager of these capital entertainments, which really 
are about the only English form of liveliness in the East, 
is duly recognised and appreciated. By reason of both 
adverse winds and strong currents, Suez is most incon- 
venient for boat exercise ; so donkey-riding on the rail- 
road in the cool of the evening is largely patronised. At 
some little distance over the way " Moses' Wells " are 
pretty, and there are the graves of one or two English- 
men. This mention of graves reminds me of the dis- 
gracefully neglected condition of the old burial ground, 
situated on a small island opposite to Suez, in which the 
bodies may be seen positively lying uncovered. Here 
may be read the names of many a distinguished English- 
man who, returning on sick leave from India, died before 
he reached old England; and their graves bespeak 
small regard for their departed worth ; not that there 
has been a failure of funds supplied by relatives and 
friends for the purpose, but they have been improperly 
administered. 

When an English sailor dies here without leaving 
effects, no service is read over his remains by the Consul; 
and I have witnessed the sight, disgraceful to the English 
nation, of sailors in their wretched coffins, without the 



128 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



Consul, without a single mourner as attendant, flung into 
their graves by Arab porters ; wlio cannot but be im- 
pressed with, the conviction that the lives of Englishmen 
derive their value solely from the possession of money. 
This hardly accords with the most ordinary^ notions of 
decency, and certainly is not calculated to inspire respect 
for the English character in the minds of the Egyptians. 
And when one reflects on the services rendered to com- 
merce by brave, hardy Jack Tar, and on the fact that 
Consuls profit by mercantile activity in every way, this 
neglect is not only barbarous, as being opposed to bare 
humanity ; it is basely ungrateful ; and I do trust that 
the matter will attract the attention of Her Majesty's 
Government. Mr. Perceval at Port Said is an honourable 
exception to this rule of indifference. His ministrations 
to sick sailors, and his respect for their remains, do him 
high honour both as an official and as a man ; and I must 
not forget to add that in this noble work he is aided by 
his excellent wife, who exemplifies her charity by per- 
sonal attention to the wants of the poor sailors who are 
left behind at the Port, 

Mr. Plimsolls exertions in their behalf have earned 
their deepest gratitude ; and at the mouth of the Canal 
blessings are invoked on his name, and hopes are loudly 
expressed that British Consuls will be taught to act as 
becomes theii* station, and that English sailors will be 
treated as something better than dogs. These things may 
not be known to the run of travellers, who studiously 
avoid mixing with complaining people, and who conse- 
quently are blissfully ignorant of all that goes on around 



SUEZ. 



129 



them. By those concerned, of course, highly flattering 
representations are made. For my part, I have never yet 
known Officialdom admit the suspicion of wrong-doing in 
any one department of its awfully stately existence ; and 
my readers do not require to be told that so perfect is 
everything nowadays that, even in England, when an 
appalling accident occurs on a railway, official investiga- 
tions generally end in the promulgation of the sentence 
that no one is to be blamed for it. Much more in Egypt 
and elsewhere. However rife irregularities may be, they 
lose their ugly names and, in process of time, come to be 
regarded as parts of a perfect system of things. I have 
never allowed myself to be gulled by official accounts. 
Preferring to use my own eyes, I have always declined to 
employ Consular or other spectacles, which generally are 
of the most soothing rose tint ; and I should have con- 
sidered that I was neglecting my duty as an independent 
traveller, if I did not bring abuses to light as they came 
under my observation. But enough of this for the 
present. 

The Post Office here is conducted by Maltese, who are 
as uncivil a set of people as ever afflicted mankind. This 
is an example * of how England has to provide for these 
mongrels, — cross breeds between low Italians and Portu- 
gese — for cunning unequalled. I was immensely amused 
by the social pretensions of the head of the department, 
who lost no time in informing me that he was a gentleman. 

* Lord Aberdeen's policy was to give these people precedence over 
Englishmen in Turkey and Egypt. 

K 



130 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



This startling bit of family biography reposed on the cir- 
cumstance that his father had fought a duel with a young 
English officer ; and he gave emphasis to the historical 
fact that in those days it was only gentlemen who fought 
duels. I represented that it was a great condescension on 
the part of the young English officer to fight with his 
parent ; but, adhering to the convention that only with a 
gentleman could he have done so, my pertinaciously 
logical Maltese was too much for me on that point. To 
my inquiry as to what the Englishman did, the Maltese 
(who, like his race, had no notion of what would be 
appreciated, or not) replied that the English officer shot 
up in the air, and that his father shot him through the 
heart. On this exploit the Maltese boasted of ancestral 
distinction, tracing it back with the fond pride of those 
who revert to the Norman Conquest, or of the more 
mushroom aristocracy who date from the battle of the 
Boyne. We must not forget, however, that these Maltese 
have very few opportunities of proclaiming their valour, 
as my fellow-countrymen in the East, I am proud to say, 
seldom speak to them, though " General Nuisance " 
surrounds himself with these abject toadies. 



CHAPTEE IX. 



JEDDA. 

I now betook myself to the steamer that was to con- 
vey me to Abyssinia. 

Everybody was kind to me at Suez, and the congenial 
society of my countrymen made my severance from tliem 
a hard parting. I put off in a boat, attended by my dear 
friend McCullough, and Mr. Zobel, who resolved to see 
me fairly settled on board ; where, as on all Mahommedan 
ships, there was an entire absence of comfort. All I had 
of worldly wealth was a few pounds, for money would have 
been of no value to me at that time ; but I prized the pos- 
session of a letter of introduction to an excellent English- 
man of the name of Currie, whom I afterwards found most 
useful to me, at Massouah. My travelling impedimenta 
were but few, — saddle-bags and the supply of provisions 
I had to take upon my journey. There was an English 

k2 



132 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



engineer on the steamer, of the name of Maccordock; 
but the captain was an old Arab, who had once taken out 
a Welsh gentleman, his wife and child, on a hunting 
expedition in Abyssinia. This unfortunate individual was 
murdered; and his brother having requited the Arab 
captain, for the marked kindness which he professed to 
have shown to the family on their way, with a hundred 
guinea watch, I was tormented by its exhibition. Never 
before was I aware of the way in which a gold watch 
might be rendered an engine of social oppression. 
Evidently I was expected to be influenced by the sight of 
the handsome memorial, and to make some sort of appre- 
ciative demonstration on my own account. But I could 
not be brought into the proper frame of mind. These 
Arabs are the most mercenary wretches living. They 
consider that you should give them everything ; and, 
what is more, if you make them a present, they think you 
should double its value next time, — in strict accordance 
with the requirements of Arithmetical Progression. In 
fact, there is no satisfying them. My trip to Massouah, 
under these afflicting circumstances, I cannot say was of a 
very interesting character. I visited the Dhalac light- 
house, where we stopped for the purpose of delivering 
provisions for the people engaged in it, who are three in 
number— an Englishman, a Scotchman, and a Maltese. 
This was one of the most extraordinary instances of the 
degree to which the mind of man may be subdued in 
respect of contentment with the hardships of life. Each 
one of these poor fellows has three month's leave in the 
year; and I shall not soon forget the looks of sorrow 



JEDDA. 



*33 



with which our departure — a cheerful break in the painful 
monotony of their existence — was regarded. They bore 
a peculiar look of despair, which told of the gloom 
generated by their isolated position, for they have com- 
munication with the outer world only once in two months, 
when they have provisions brought to them. 

Here I saw the finest collection of Eed Sea shells I 
ever had the pleasure of inspecting. 

A painful sight was the "Van Tromp," the ill-fated 
Dutch ship which got ashore during her passage to Batavia 
with a most valuable cargo. She was surrounded by Arab 
and Maltese boats come up from Suez ; and I can safely say 
that it was one of the most extraordinary things that ever 
came under my notice in the course of twelve years* 
travel, to see the perfectly reckless way in which every- 
thing was being disposed of. Tins of potted provisions 
of all sorts, and beautiful English and Dutch butter 
(which in Suez is retailed at four shillings per pound) 
were sold at absurd rates, and without any, the least, 
reason for the sacrifice, seeing that the whole cargo might 
easily have been transhipped and sold favourably and well, 
instead of being distributed among the Maltese and the 
Arabs; two or three of whom realised £2000 each by 
their speculations. This is a sample of the sort of things 
that go on in the Eed Sea; and the lesson which 
" Lloyds " have yet to learn is to entrust the conduct of 
their affairs to firm hands and intelligent heads. Such 
palpable neglect of the interests of those concerned, and 
such a lack of business capacity as this incident disclosed, 
excited the astonishment every Englishman who wit- 



134 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



nessed it ; and the scandal derives aggravation from the 
circumstance that such things can take place on the high- 
way of the Eastern World. The advice I would take the 
liberty to offer to "Lloyds" is, to trust no local authority, 
but to send out cool, calculating men of whom they have 
had experience at home, for the protection of their 
interests here, among these most predacious Maltese. 

On we steamed to Jedda, our navigation getting some- 
what difficult by reason of Jedda being to the Mahommedan 
world what J affa is to the Christian, in that it is the gate- 
way to Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet. I landed 
here, and inspected the ruins occasioned by the celebrated 
bombardment carried on by the French while the English 
quietly looked on. The English, it is said, supplied the 
ammunition (for they had orders not to fire), and the 
French used their artillery. This operation had a very 
beneficial effect on the inhabitants of the region. It 
made the Mahommedan world understand that, though the 
Prophet was an active power in his own day, Christendom 
somehow has created appliances easily capable of annihilat- 
ing their stale edifices. "Very curious," I have observed 
more than once to Mahommedans of distinction, " it is to 
speculate on your condition. Tou are a poor lot ; unable 
to do anything, too lazy even to get your own livelihood. 
You are unprosperous, and cruel to each other ; and your 
Government, on pain of bastinado, exacts all kinds of 
harsh demands, while Christendom flourishes without the 
least pressure being put upon it. Immutably fixed in one 
groove, you forbid to yourselves the capability of pro- 



JEDDA. 



135 



gress. While on earth, you think of nothing but money, 
women, and coffee ; and your creed teaches you to believe 
that in Paradise you will be caressed by beautiful women, 
and enjoy all the delights appertaining to the society of 
such ravishing beings. This prospect of bliss, indeed, is 
the summit of your ideal felicity. While Christians 
reckon a good woman to be a great treasure, and indulge 
the hope that they shall meet her again in Heaven, you 
hope to meet, not your wife (to whom no place is assigned 
by y ou the future economy), but a vast number of 
women better than the wife who has shared the cares of 
life with you on earth ; whereas we are perfectly satisfied 
with dwelling on the renewal of affection for the single 
partner of our joys and our griefs." 

The Bazaar of Jedda is of great extent, — a quaint place 
which boasts of several really good Arabian houses of 
many stories and solid architecture. 

It may be said to be a continuous succession of cook- 
shops, and stores for the sale of Manchester cotton goods, 
and especially of magnificent Persian carpets, of all sizes 
and patterns, the best to be purchased in Arabia. These 
find a ready sale, for it is considered the correct thing by all 
Mahommedans who do the pilgrimage, to buy their prayer- 
carpets on the road to Mecca ; and an equally lively trade 
is done in the materials for the turbans. One pilgrimage 
to Mecca entitles the faithful devotee to wear the red tur- 
ban; the second authorises him to assume the green. In 
reference to these emblems of distinction a saying pre- 
vails among the common people to the effect that one trip 
to Mecca makes a man respectable ; the second invests 



136 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



him with suspicion ; and tlie third finishes him off as a 
rogue of the deepest dye. The satire points to the prac- 
tice of founding a reputation for sanctity on the bare 
accident of travel ; and I rather suspect that Christians 
are not unapt similarly to regard the operation of church- 
going as evidence of godliness. 

One or two cases of suspected poisoning of Europeans 
have given Jedda an evil- reputation, as being a very un- 
safe locality to dwell in. Of course we were shewn 
Mother Eve's tomb, a large, long erection, in which her 
bones are said to repose; — a representation reminding 
one forcibly of Dr* Beke's startling discovery of human 
bones on his new Mount Sinai, which I visited about a 
month afterwards and found to be, in my judgment, 
camels' bones, such as are to be met with all over Arabia. 
As for inscriptions, it was a grievous disappointment to 
me (and, through me, to my esteemed friend, the Rev. 
Dunbar Heath) that I never saw one of them. But, as 
Punch wittily inquired in a number I was lucky enough to 
come across in Arabia, ""Who was it that went first V y to 
which the answer was, " It was the Arab that went before 
the bealc and we shall do the Arab no injustice in sur- 
mising that he destroyed all the inscriptions. 

There is a very considerable fishery here, the fish being 
both good and plentiful ; and the negro population, who 
are slaves, work hard in boats for the transport of 
pilgrims to the ships. Fine fruit also is to be purchased 
here ; the melons are particularly acceptable. Many of 
the inhabitants are very wealthy and lead lives of Oriental 
splendour. Two thousand troops are quartered in the 



JEDDA. 



1 37 



town, and quite a fleet of Turkish men-of-war rides in the 
harbour. I have seen as many as eight of them at a time; 
and the explanation of the circumstance is to be found in 
the fact that Jedda's geographical position gives it dis- 
tinctive importance in the Mahommedan mind. During my 
stay, there was some talk of a railway hence to Mecca. 
The enterprise, there can be no doubt, would be attended 
with great profit by reason of the ceaseless stream of pil- 
grims ; but how is the work to be accomplished without 
European, or Infidel, engineering ? No Christian is ever 
allowed to approach the sacred shrine. The only known 
instance of one going there is that of the distinguished 
traveller, Captain Burton, who, having assumed the garb 
and habits of a Mahommedan, succeeded under the most 
trying privations in reaching the classic spot. Arabic 
scholarship enabled him to penetrate where the Infidel 
never before dared to set foot ; and we can easily under- 
stand the severity of the general training he must have 
undergone to be able to execute that feat of sublime 
audacity, attended as it was at every step with risk of his 
life; and let us not forget that his assumption of the 
status of an Oriental subject once or twice exposed him 
to the peril of the bastinado. Surely no words can be too 
strong to express our admiration of the intellect, energy, 
and pluck involved in that undertaking. 



CHAPTEE X. 



ABYSSINIA. 
Sawakim. 

Sawakim was reached in three days after our departure 
from Jedda. As we neared the land, a tremendous sand- 
storm set in, which compelled us to anchor the steamer. 
Sand-storms are not uncommon hereabouts. With the 
prevalence of a high wind the sand nearly blinded us, 
while all around was enveloped in a darkness of unnatural 
gloom. It was the occasion of great anxiety to the cap- 
tain, as the numerous coral reefs rendered navigation 
dangerous. Twenty years ago execution was the penalty 
exacted from the Egyptian captain who lost his vessel. 
Now I believe the punishment is transportation to the 
White Nile, the Siberia of Egypt ; where swollen 
stomachs and pestilential fevers soon release them from 
their misery. " A trip to the White Nile " has come to 
be regarded as a polite synonym for the " bourne whence 



SAW A KIM. 



139 



no traveller returns." Wlien a Pasha is sent up, by a 
curious refinement of cruelty a camel of violently jolty 
paces is selected for him to ride ; and it generally shakes 
him to death before he reaches his destination. 

Sawakim is difficult of access ; it is a plain, unhealthy- 
looking spot. On our arrival we learned that Sir Samuel 
Baker was within fourteen days of the place with a large 
convoy of camels and ivory. The governor was busily 
engaged in making a bath for the immediate accommo- 
dation of Lady Baker, in the courtyard of his residence, 
round which a garden was also being laid out. The fresh 
water for the bath was being brought from a great dis- 
tance in goat-skins on the backs of Arabs. 

The houses were of the usual Arab style, and offered 
nothing special for observation. I was struck, however, 
with the singular effect produced by the superimposition 
of the figure-head of a ship on the top of one of the edi- 
fices j and, as Arabs do not usually allow the exhibition 
of the image of man or beast, this departure from the 
rule had a startling individuality of its own. Crossing 
over in a boat to another division of the town, I saw the 
native blacks, in large numbers, cooking meat on char- 
coal fires. With the paunch of the animal they are cook- 
ing drawn over the right hand like a glove, they sit in rows 
on the ground before their fires, and turn the meat as 
required. In another corner over the way I saw Ethio- 
pian natives engrossed in the greasy occupation of but- 
tering one another's heads. The butter, I suppose to 
facilitate this 

" Grateful toil of toilette decoration." 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



is generally made into balls ; and I am certain I have 
seen a pound of it rubbed into one man's head. They 
consider that it imparts strength to the system, besides 
being a sign of exquisite dandyism. How shocking all 
this grease must both look and smell ! exclaims my 
reader. Well, I cannot say that I was captivated with 
the oleaginous lustre of the buttered heads ; but, allow- 
ing for excess of the article and the absence of disguising 
essences, it is not much worse than what I have some- 
times witnessed among ourselves ; only our head-baptism 
is effected with some less material substance than butter. 
Still, mutato nomine, it is only butter, after all the con- 
fusions of chemistry. The process of being buttered, I 
must be careful to note, has the additional attraction of 
the company of the ladies, who sit on both sides of the 
man undergoing the operation, and occupy the time with 
flattering comments on his increased and increasing 
comeliness until the due quantity of butter has been got 
through. 

Besides this Truefitt-provoking practice, they have 
several curious modes of dressing the hair ; and such is 
the fame of the local artistes that they attract customers 
from distant parts in the interior. These are rather a 
fine race of men, whereas the inhabitants of the town 
itself are a very peculiar people, a half-starved, fish-eating 
community ; whose huts consist of sticks set in the earth 
and covered in with matting. Fragile as they may be, 
however, these mat houses are very agreeable, being 
exactly adapted to the climate. 

The fishermen go out on rafts bound together with 



SAWAKIM. 



141 



bullock's hide, which they navigate with paddles. As I 
have already intimated, a very considerable industry is in 
operation with fish ; of which there are numerous varieties. 
As a rule, the flavour of the Eed Sea fish is not good ; 
but I must make an exception in favour of a beautiful 
little fish, very plentiful here, about the size of our sprat 
and with somewhat of the flavour of the smelt. Another 
fish, to be found all along the coast in great numbers 
by reason of being religiously avoided, is known by the 
name of the Excrement fish from its attending upon 
ships. It has a handsome look, like that of a large 
carp. 

Here are two or three varieties of the sand-piper, and 
both storks and pelicans abound. As a curiosity of 
Natural History, I must note that I saw here two of the 
thinnest living kittens I ever set eyes on. Their skin, 
destitute of hair, actually looked like silk drawn over a 
frame of bones. This was the effect of extreme starva- 
tion. Their owners never think of feeding animals, 
and they are averse from destroying life ; so the dire 
struggle for existence is suffered to continue as it best 
can. 

The Governor was exceedingly polite to me, and I 
presented him with the "Illustrated London News 99 and 
other newspapers, which he said he should place at the 
disposal of Sir Samuel Baker, in the event of his coming 
down. On one occasion, while I was seated with him, in 
came an eunuch, who had been the head official in the 
Harem of the late Viceroy. The duty of the successor 
always is to have this depositary of so many State secrets 



142 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



either executed, or removed from the place ; hence he 
was sent here, where he held a considerable position. 
On his entry into the room I observed that the Bey rose 
from his seat, and received him with every sign of 
cordiality and respect. It was known that he held close 
communication with many influential personages in Cairo ; 
and this circumstance rendered it highly desirable to 
keep on good terms with him. This creature was very 
thin, and had a painfully squeaky voice ; and I could not 
help surveying him with peculiar interest. The meal 
which was soon served up, I presume in honour of both of 
us, consisted of turkeys stuffed with raisins ; and it cer- 
tainly was amusing, though ill accordant with the English 
mode, to see him applying his long, bony fingers to the 
tearing asunder of the body of a bird ; after which he 
deferentially presented me with a leg and some stuffing. 
It happened that I was not familiar with the dish, and at 
first I fancied that the cook had forgotten to take the 
crop out of the bird, and so had left in the beans with 
which poultry are fed in Egypt. He observed my hesita- 
tion and surprise at the novelty ; and, by way of resolv- 
ing my doubts, he carefully detached a raisin from its 
unctuous embedment and coaxingly insinuated it into my 
mouth. This mark of delicate attention was not lost upon 
me. The proverbial cleanliness of these men reconciled 
me at once to the digital conveyance of my portion of the 
fare ; and I could not but relish it when he assured me 
that it was a favourite dish with the ladies of the Harem 
in Egypt. The late Viceroy, he told us, most carefully 
attended to the feeding of the ladies, whom he visited 



SAWAKIM. 



143 



only after they had been royally entertained. With 
Shakespeare he evidently held that 

" The veins unfilled, our bloocl is cold — and then 
We pout upon the morning ; are unapt 
To give or to forgive : but, when we have stuffed 
These pipes and these conveyances of our blood 
With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls 
Than in our priest-like fasts/' 

A multitude of hungry women obviously would be a most 
annoying form of opposition to one who counted upon 
luxurious ease and stately dalliance in their society ; and, 
in seeing to the physical condition of his ladies, the late 
Viceroy was simply providing for his own comfort. 

This eunuch was a very pleasant and agreeable com- 
panion, quite a man-of-the-world, with large experience 
of life in all its strange varieties. I remember that the 
company laughed heartily at the idea of Lady Baker ac- 
companying her husband on his expedition. They 
explained this (as they took it) irregularity by saying she 
was not an Englishwoman, and were curious to know 
why Sir Samuel had not taken an Englishwoman for wife. 
They also inquired of me if it were true that, in early life, 
he had been a slave-driver in the West Indies. I said 
all I knew of Sir Samuel was that he had acted as drago- 
man to the Prince of Wales up the Nile, and that his 
instructive tongue had secured to him the Royal favour. 
Then the conversation reverted to Lady Baker. They 
affirmed that she was an Austrian; and the difficulty 



144 ORIENTAL ZIGZAG, 

winch they persisted in casting up before me was this : — 
" If he one English gentleman, why he not marry one 
English lady ? " The Arabs full well know the value of 
the Peerage and Baronetage. In fact,, they are more 
familiar with the family histories of English lords and 
ladies than with those of their own Pashas. Burke turns 
up in many places in the East ; and the eunuch, who had 
himself moved in high and elegant society, was quite up 
to the mark in respect of what the newspapers call 
" Court and Fashion." 

The general impression here seemed to be that what 
Sir Samuel Baker had done had been achieved before 
him by Grant ; and Captain Burton was held in the 
highest estimation as a traveller of unique distinction. 
They sneered at the notion of preventing Slavery, and 
remitted Sir Samuel's capture of a slave-dealer to the 
region of myths. Certainly I could not hear of his hav- 
ing done anything of the kind ; and I am prepared to 
say, from the opportunities of observation enjoyed by me 
in the course of about five hundred miles' travel in the 
interior of Abyssinia, that Slavery was as rife as ever. I 
saw myself a convoy of slaves, 150 in number, being 
brought down to the coast either for work or for exporta- 
tion; and, as an Englishman, I must express my sur- 
prise at the assertions hazarded respecting the abolition 
of the hateful traffic. 

As always will be the case wherever Mahommedan 
power rules supreme, there is no limit to the cruelties in- 
flicted on the poor creatures. The religion, in short, 
inculcates selfishness to the extreme of effacing all con- 



SAW A KIM. 



M5 



sideration for others. Thus, when a man rises to the 
dignity of a Pasha from a humble station in life, lie 
utterly ignores the existence of his old friends. And so 
all the way through. A slave may be allowed to enter a 
place of worship, and pray with the Viceroy himself; this 
may be interpreted as a recognition of the equality of 
mankind before God; yet, when prayer is over, he is 
regarded with as much concern as a locust or a grass- 
hopper. The only care bestowed upon him is to see 
that he is duly bastinadoed if he does not work. The 
severity of Egyptian despotism in this region is quite 
equal to that of the Portuguese in the Quissama country 
in Central Africa, where I spent a year and a half. 
It is a very curious thing, indeed, that the information 
possessed by the British Government regarding Slavery 
should be of so defective and weak a character ; and, 
as a traveller, I am at a loss to determine the pre- 
cise measure of Sir Samuel Baker's services to the 
cause of civilisation in opening up the country, unless 
England resolves to demand the emancipation of these 
slaves. 

Sir Samuel Baker, it is well known, seized ivory from 
the natives in the name of the Viceroy. Surely there 
could be no justice in the abreption, and the people must 
have derived strange conceptions from the action of our 
representative. As for the pretext that our national 
prestige was forwarded by such conduct, it is too ridicu- 
lous to be worthy of refutation ; and I can only say that, 
if that conduct be right, the Viceroy might as well 

L 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



authorise a Pasha to come over here and possess himself 
of all the valuables contained in London and Ryder's 
establishment. The invasion of the rights of property 
absolutely would be of parallel enormity. The time will 
arrive, and that soon, when England will awake to the 
consciousness of the signal error she has committed in 
entrusting so cruel a despot as the Viceroy with the pos- 
session of these far removed regions, whence authentic 
representations of the misery and distress occasioned by 
his rule will not reach our shores in this century. There 
can be no doubt that the back country offers vast and 
important fields for enterprise of all kinds; but what 
enterprise can be expected to thrive under the domina- 
tion of Moslem notions, without the regulation of the 
European mind? Colonel Gordon, who has recently 
gone out to travel over these countries, will assuredly 
execute his mission. He is as brave as a Hon, and 
remarkably intelligent; but we must not forget that 
a soldier is neither a good farmer nor a financial 
agent. 

The world is agreed that Slavery must be put a stop 
to ; and, if it is to be extirpated from these lands, their 
government must be taken out of the hands of the 
Viceroy. There can be no middle course. 

As an example of what he has already done in the 
way of spoliation of the natives to satisfy his monstrous 
demands of taxes, it is sufficient to mention that, if an 
Abyssinian possesses ten bullocks or cows, six out of the 
ten are seized, slaughtered, and skinned ; and their hides 



SAWAKIM. 



i47 



forwarded to Suez, where, at wholesale rates, they easily 
fetch a napoleon apiece. This is an unfailing source of 
ready money, to be sure ; but how long can any source 
be equal to the drains so ceaselessly and recklessly made 
upon it ? All over Egypt signs abound of the people 
breaking helplessly under the crushing weight of the 
burdens imposed upon them so long ; and the strain 
must result in their total destruction. In Egypt he has 
levied taxes in advance up to 1879 ; and this pitiless 
anticipation of revenue has been attended with wide- 
spread ruin, in thousands of cases the last bullock having 
been carried off. In one part of Egypt I saw the cattle 
seized in such numbers that they became quite a drug in 
the market and, failing their sale, had to be returned to 
their owners, who were duly bastinadoed for the nullity 
of the commercial speculation. With such a notorious 
condition of things under the rule of the Viceroy, what 
security there can be in investing in u New Egyptian 
Loans/' is more than my limited understanding is able to 
make out. 

I spent a couple of days in exploring Sawakim, 
during which ample material for philosophic reflection 
was provided by the vast waste of machinery that 
had been set up for cotton-cleaning and other pur- 
poses ; I say waste, because, after the erection of the 
costly apparatus, no money was forthcoming to grow the 
cotton. 

By way of recompensing the old Bey for his kind 
hospitality, I did not fail to gratify him and his name- 
ly 



148 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG, 



rous friends with a jig and one or two Irish comic songs, 
I justify my adoption of the jig in preference to a more 
stately dance by the plea that solemn movements make 
no impression on the Oriental mind ; and, as the Arab has 
an unalterable conviction that an Englishman is never 
sober, it does not much matter how much life you throw 
into the performance. I therefore allowed myself no little 
latitude in the execution of my jig, which, in that it dis- 
dained regularity of measure, would have won the warm 
approval of the Mulligan who cut such a terrible figure 
at "Mrs. Perkins' Ball/' as delineated by the charming 
pen and pencil of the inimitable "M. A. Titmarsh." 
Loud and long was the laughter I provoked. It is not 
often that the Arab laughs ; he is dull and unhopeful by 
stress of his fatalistic creed : but he seems to make up for 
it when he does set about it. Yielding to the influence 
of mirth, on these rare occasions he may be said to laugh 
and grin all over ; the whole nature of the man is pene- 
trated with a delirium of joy. 

The conversation turning upon our mode of govern- 
ment, they seemed to be unable to understand it at all, 
and rather inclined to the belief that England was fast 
declining. They were puzzled to account for .the fact 
that a woman reigned; and I was earnestly invited to 
explain the rationale of the (to them) singular arrange- 
ment. I said there was an old saw in England that, 
when woman reigns, men rule, and that, when men 
reign, woman rules. An Arab of a severely logical turn 
of mind forthwith made what is called a practical applica- 



SAWAKIM. 



H9 



tion of my remark. "Then," said he, "that's why the 
Viceroy makes such an ass of himself. The inmates of 
the Harem, so that they continue to get supplied with 
jewels and have their friends put into office, are perfectly 
satisfied; and their satisfaction is all the Viceroy cares 
about." 

This comment was based on the fact that, like all 
Orientals after five-and-forty years of age, the Viceroy 
has become very lazy, and has entrusted the conduct of 
affairs to his son, Towka Pasha, who is a very voluptuous 
young gent, much given to cultivating female society. 
Nature has not endowed him with any personal attrac- 
tions; very far from it; and moreover, according to 
Mahommedan law, he is not the heir to the throne, the 
Viceroy's next brother being entitled to the succession. 
I was thoroughly disgusted, on a previous occasion, to 
see the brother of a Lord riding beside his carriage 
and publicly paying him all the homage one would 
expect to see rendered by a footman to H.E.H. the 
Prince of Wgies. It was a sickening sight, and evoked 
expressions of intense loathing from all European 
observers. 

No other European would, I am sure, have been guilty 

of the humiliation. But it was reported that Mr. 

had sold several horses to the Viceroy at extravagant 
prices ; hence perhaps the immoderate expression of his 
attentions. 

Sawakim, it should be added, has an active local 
industry in connection with spear-heads, of which they 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



manufacture a prodigious number, the inhabitants being, 
accustomed to walk about with spears in their hands. 
This they do habitually, to the production of a proud, 
martial style of walking. The place is full of black- 
smiths and tinsmiths busy at work of every kind. 



CHAPTEE XI. 



MASSOUAH. — ORET. — MASHALLAT. 

Leaving Sawakirn, we passed one or two tiny islands of 
sand, denoting the proximity of coral reefs, on which, sea- 
birds disported in large nnmbers ; and after three days' 
good steaming we sighted Massouah. 

The surrounding scenery was of a melancholy cha- 
racter, invested with the gloom proverbially inseparable 
from all Mahommedan towns situated on the Eed Sea ; 
without a trace of vegetable life, and entirely bare of the 
enlivening presence of trees. A small fleet of Arab 
vessels ply between this and Aden, whence they import 
Indian fabrics for the Arab merchants and the Banyans ; 
the latter of whom emigrated from India for permanent 
settlement here. A whole street is monopolised by 
these industrious people, who are imbued with the mer- 
cantile spirit. They carry on a rich trade in ivory and 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



pearls ; and it is notorious they are fairer in their deal- 
ings than their Arab competitors. 

A notable object of course is the residence of the 
Governor of the place, Munzinger Pasha, whose rule may- 
be regarded as almost absolute. Of the few European 
residents I may individualise M. Perrout, who in early 
manhood came across Grant on the White Nile. He is a 
wonderfully energetic Swiss gentleman, of kind heart 
and agreeable manners, and speaks English fluently. 

On my first visit to the Governor's house I was not 
lucky enough to obtain the desired interview. It is 
nothing but right that there should be proper recogni- 
tion of the powers that be in every quarter of the globe, 
and I put in an early appearance for the purpose of 
respectful salutation, as it behoves travellers most especi- 
ally to do. But one of the attendants, inclining his head 
to one side and applying his hand as if to support it, 
ingeniously signified to me that his master was asleep. 
This disappointment may seem a trivial one ; yet under 
the circumstances it acquired a certain gravity of its 
own ; for nothing remained but for me to return to my 
wretched abode, to which, by way of making its likeness 
to a lock-up still more pronounced than its architectural 
features rendered it, I was conducted by a nondescript of 
a policeman. For refreshment of the inner man all I 
could procure was some Abyssinian bread, which I must 
candidly confess my utter inability to describe. It 
would tax the ingenuity of defamation itself to condemn 
it in sufficiently maledictory terms. It was indeed 
" fearfully and wonderfully made ; ;; and I have no hesita- 



MASSOUAH. 



153 



tion in pronouncing it to have been the very worst 
material in the shape of human food that I ever set teeth 
to. Yet I had perforce to content myself with it as I 
best could ; consoling myself with the reflection that I 
was thereby adding to the list of experimental philo- 
sophers distributed all over the world; who daily strive 
to convince their too luxurious fellow-creatures that life 
may be sustained on the poorest and most unappetising 
fare. If the Eoman satirist successfully assailed the 
foolishness of people who supplicated for physical health 
and longevity^ by pointing to the grandes patinas, tueceta 
que crassa which clogged the gracious purposes of 
Jupiter; assuredly he would have given the weight of his 
Stoic recommendation to Abyssinian bread as singularly 
wholesome. For a whole week I subsisted on this; and 
became somewhat impatient at not yet seeing the Pasha; 
when an intimation was conveyed to me that Hunzinger 
desired to see me. This was news to me indeed. Mun- 
zinger; said I to myself; has woke up at last ; he has 
actually come to the consciousness that a traveller seeks 
introduction to his sublime presence. The sleep which I 
was not allowed to disturb last week has come to an end; 
and Munzinger, like Tony Lumpkin; exclaimed I in a 
transport of delight; is his " own man again/' So I 
hurried to the divan, which in Egypt serves all the ends 
a room can be put to, and awaited the audience. I soon 
learned that the somnolency naturally to be expected 
after the late Eip Van WinMeish spell had not been 
completely subdued ; and, as there were no signs of the 
Pasha's appearance for a pretty considerable space of 



154 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



time, I thought to make myself at home by yielding to 
the attractions of a very comfortable seat which seemed 
to invite occupation. I was told afterwards that it was 
reckoned distinguished to keep one waiting as long as 
possible ) and, as my detention was for over two hours, I 
did not reproach myself with being too forward in con- 
sulting my own ease in taking it. But I was not long in 
possession of it before Hassan, with every sign of con- 
cern on his countenance, came in and ordered me out of 
it, with the intimation that it was the Pasha's seat. 

I have done this official a social injustice in speaking of 
him bluntly as Hassan. He luxuriates in the polite style 
and designation of Monsieur Hassan. He had been chief 
of the Austrian police, and had resided at Constantinople, 
where his career was not successful; and he loves to indulge 
in the mental luxury of retailing choice episodes of his 
experience while in that service. He was married to a 
black woman, whom his lively imagination necessarily 
invested with the dignified status of an Abyssinian 
princess. His impertinence was redeemed from mere 
vulgarity by its sublimity ; it beat everything in that line 
I have ever had experience of, and my experience has 
not been a limited one. He was most anxious to accom- 
modate me with one of his own servants on my journey 
into the interior, and the offer was made with all the 
circumstantiality of profound regard for the traveller's 
benefit ; but it did not require extraordinary penetration 
to discover that his anxiety was directed to the object of 
having a spy on my actions, and I therefore declined to 
accept the proffered kindness, much to his discomfiture. 



MASSOUAH. 



He is now, I hear, applying his versatile genius to the 
manufacture of bricks at Keren ; and there, for the sake 
of travellers in general, I fervently trust he may remain. 

After the lapse of two hours I was ushered into the 
presence of Munzinger, whose reception of me was of 
unimpeachable civility; and, in the usual Oriental style, 
combining falsehood with pomposity, he assured me that 
he had just been apprised of my presence in the divan ; 
and Monsieur Hassan had to endure the unmerited re- 
proach of neglect of duty. This transparent lie I was in 
no humour to take thankfully, and my displeasure at the 
gross want of courtesy displayed to me was, I fancy, 
visible enough to his practised eye ; so there was quite an 
effusion of soothing small talk, which culminated in the 
liberal offer to supply me with a guide to the interior of 
the country. Now, I am not ungrateful, but I think it 
admits of question whether this favour was dictated by any 
love and affection for either me or the English nation. I 
could not help connecting it with the untimely fate of the 
Revd. Mr. O'Donnell who had died there, a few days 
before my arrival, of sunstroke. Various sinister reports 
had got into circulation regarding his death, which was 
looked upon as most mysterious; and Munzinger ob- 
viously desired to supply no further occasion for malicious 
gossip. 

No time was lost in allotting a guide to me, but a very 
peremptory message was sent that I should not start for 
a week. What this meant I could not understand. There 
might have been some weighty State reason for the de- 
tention ; or it might only have been one of those incom- 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



prehensible dark manoeuvres so dear to the Arab mind. 
But, howsoever that might have been, I was forced to 
remain inactive for the prescribed period, which to me 
was one of weariness, anxiety and privation. I used to 
take walking exercise regularly, and was narrowly watched 
the while, I am confident. On one of these occasions I 
saw a large concourse of people, evidently on the look- 
out for a sight of some sort ; which turned out to be the 
Pasha and the son of his wife by a previous marriage 
with an Abyssinian (which she was herself) riding out 
on donkeys, attended by the black body-guard, who are 
very fine troops indeed — slaves confiscated to the use of 
the Viceroy from slave-owners who had made default in 
payment of the endless taxes. Having once been fired 
at and severely wounded, Munzinger never trusts his 
person in public without these attendants. Upon the 
whole, I incline to think that he is one of the best Pashas 
in the Egyptian service ; in fact, I am disposed to rate 
him as ranking next to M'Killop Pasha, who is an 
Englishman, and who may be said to stand apart from 
the whole official host. Ever ready to stick up for the 
rights of Englishmen in Egypt, he is the only man under 
the Viceroy who does not labour under the suspicion of 
corruption. 

At the end of my week of confinement, in the dead of 
the night I was roused from my slumbers, and informed 
that the donkeys were ready and that I must set out 
without a moment's delay. I needed but little persuasion 
to get up from my rude bed, for I was restless with 
anxiety, and the mosquitoes added their irritating torture 



MASSOUAH. 



to my mental disquiet. It was a very warm night, too ; 
and no sooner had I crammed my things into my saddle- 
bags than the Arab who woke me hurried me off to the 
court-yard of the Pasha. Here, by the light of a little 
oil-lamp, I saw one of the leanest of donkeys appointed 
to the conveyance of my 16 stone weight, and the hateful 
speculation shot across my brain that I was far better 
qualified to carry the donkey. Munzinger, having been 
asleep all day (which is not an unwise proceeding in hot 
places like this), was awake at night ; and, desiring me 
to mount my animal, he soon mounted another which was 
ready for him, and escorted me out of the town. I have 
omitted earlier to mention, in illustration of the various 
capabilities of the natives, that Munzinger has a band of 
twenty-four black musicians, who were trained by an 
Italian bandmaster imported from Cairo, who unhappily 
fell a victim to the unhealthy climate. Their playing, 
which is marvellously good, attests the skill and diligence 
of their accomplished instructor. As we sallied out of 
the court-yard, both to my surprise and to my amuse- 
ment, they suddenly struck up " Yankee Doodle." They 
all here would have it that I was an American ; and the 
compliment to my supposed nationality certainly was 
overpowering in its suddenness. They were pleased to 
think that I was far too cool and impudent (such is the 
fallibility of human judgment as to character !) for an 
Englishman ; and I was not anxious to disabuse their 
minds of the erroneous impression, for the Stars and 
Stripes secure a degree of respect and attention hardly 
accorded to another flag ; and their subjects, nay, even 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



those of any other nationality claiming their protection, 
could not incur the chance of maltreatment, however in- 
significant, without the immediate provision of redress 
and satisfaction. The proud boast Civis Romanics sum ! 
seems now to be the property of the American citizen. 

On quitting Massouah we had to pass through a toll-gate, 
at which each passenger has to pay two piastres (about 
4(7. of English money), and found all the guards fast 
asleep. These careless custodiers of revenue were forth- 
with enlivened to a due sense of their responsibilities by 
the administration of sundry blows, not of the gentlest 
order, by the members of the Pasha's troop in attend- 
ance. Here is the commencement of the watercourse 
which brings the water into Massouah from a distance of 
twenty miles. It is a most ingenious contrivance and in 
every respect reflects the highest credit on Munzinger, 
who acted as his own engineer. It goes from Massouah 
across an inland bend of the sea, over to an island, 
whence it joins the mainland again. The water is remark- 
ably good ; and it is a well-known fact that, before this 
supply was provided, the people in Massouah perished in 
large numbers for the lack of it, the water then being not 
only of indifferent quality but very expensive ; and the 
poor wretches would besiege the steamers that arrived at 
the port with piteous appeals for this indispensable ne- 
cessary of life. Justice compels me to say — and it is the 
only good thing I will say for him — that the Viceroy has 
been at great pains to supply water to his poor subjects 
scattered over various deserts in his wide dominions ; 
and I should be sorry to detract from his merits in that 



MASSOUAH. 



*59 



regard as a humane ruler by suggesting that, after all, 
the apparent humanity was bottomed upon selfish concern 
for his own advantage, since people could not be expected 
to endure in the absence of water; and the payment of 
taxes, taxes, taxes, for which people must live, seems to 
be the chief function of man on earth, in the philosophy 
of His Highness the Viceroy of Egypt. 

The night being dark, we had no means of exactly 
determining our progress ; and, almost before we were 
aware of it, we came upon a camp of Egyptian troops. 
The guards saluted us with " God is great, and Mahommed 
is his prophet," to which succeeded the proclamation, 
theologically impressive, of " There is but one God, and 
Mahommed is his prophet." In the melancholy quiet of 
tropical Africa, in the dead of night, all this sounded 
very singular. 

Arabic prevails all through this region. 

We continued our ride till we reached a village, when 
the Pasha directed his sable Major to knock up the old 
sheikh and order him to provide me with a horse, for it 
was distressingly easy to see that my poor debilitated 
donkey was quite unequal to the support of his burden 
much longer. The old fellow, on learning that the Pasha 
was nigh, ran precipitately out of his hut (which, by the 
way, was a very magnificent affair with its court-yard all 
matted up) and, as it were in the extremity of terror at 
the apparition, threw himself flat on his face ; after which, 
having first kissed the ground, — on which I presume he 
fondly took it for granted that Munzinger had trodden, — 
he proceeded to imprint kisses on the Pasha's feet. Nor 



i6o 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



was his devotion only of the demonstrative sort. A 
horse soon was brought out, and we closed with his offer 
to supply another. Coffee also was served; and, as the 
intelligence of our arrival spread through the village, all 
the female members of the community, waking up in their 
huts, began saluting the Pasha with the peculiar guttural 
noises wherewith they are wont to signify their loyal 
admiration of their rulers, or the great men of the dis- 
trict, when they pass through. These throat-notes 
emitted by three or four hundred women in concert, and 
prolonged for no little space of time, must have taxed the 
energies of the authors of this unique ovation. It hardly 
seemed to me to be a mode calculated for the production 
of any great enthusiasm. On me, indeed, apart from the 
shock of novelty, it had rather a depressing effect ; yet 
(such is the diversity of taste !) they appeared to derive 
some sort of moral satisfaction from the performance ; 
which, singular to relate, is left to the women, the men 
taking no part in it. It certainly is an original way of 
developing the usefulness of the other sex. What a 
grand sphere of utility lies open to those aggressive 
ladies who pine for the enlargement of their bounds ! 
Suppose that they relieved mankind of the hooraying 
which British institutions stand in such vital need of! 
And yet that would not do ; for how else could Britons 
discharge their fierce joy-laden souls of the tempest of feel- 
ing and sentiment which a grand dinner generates, or the 
sight of their darling M.P., whose speech they cannot hear 
and, if they could hear it, they certainly would not under- 
stand ? This is a consideration that affects our social and 



MASSOUAH. 



161 



political well-being. Cheers, and shouts, and all the 
other explosive forces of human nature are not lightly to 
be suppressed. They have become integral parts of the 
British Constitution ; they are entwined with the very 
fibre of our national life ; and John Bull, for his very 
salvation, cannot afford to part with the privilege. 

Availing ourselves of the change of animal conveyance 
which the loyal promptitude of the old sheikh had secured 
for us, we proceeded on our journey, the Pasha giving me 
the benefit of his society as far as Keren, which we 
reached in six days. He paid me the gratifying compli- 
ment of observing that, the more he saw of me, the 
better he liked me ; and he appeared to take deep 
interest in learning how things were going on in England. 
Our progress was not stayed until just before sunrise, 
when we halted on a very stony plateau, where the 
soldiers threw down carpets for the Pasha, of which I 
was courteously invited to avail myself; and right glad 
was I of the accommodation and of a drink of water, 
which the warmth of the temperature made most agree- 
able. A fire now was soon lighted, a tin of sardines 
opened, coffee of course prepared, and a few hard rusks 
subdued to the requisite softness by immersion in boiling 
water. After this early refreshment, the Pasha proposed 
that we should go on for two or three hours more, before 
the sun's rays became oppressive, and, resting during the 
day, resume travel at night ; which was a highly sensible 
and a pleasant idea to boot. Already, indeed, the heat 
was asserting itself intensely, and the small acacia scrub 
we passed was being gradually burnt up. Several gazelles 

H 



l62 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



came within our observation on tlie plain, as we proceeded 
to achieve our purpose of getting over a certain distance ; 
and we finally sought the shelter of a clay formation at 
foot of which was a waterpool, the contents of which 
were as muddy as mud could be, but which we were com- 
pelled to drink at the cost of finding the liquid sediment 
lie cold and heavy in the stomach. 

Shortly after we had taken up our quarters for the 
day, three Arabian Bedouins (a quaint mixture of the 
Arabian coast tribe and the trading Arab), apprised some- 
how of our presence, brought us a fine antelope they had 
slain. Our attendants skinned the animal as quick as 
lightning, and it was a perfect god-send to me. It was 
the first bit of fresh meat I had tasted since leaving 
Jedda, which was three weeks back; the reader will, 
therefore, be in a position to realise in imagination the 
gust (to give it no more material name) with which I 
applied myself to its consumption. 

The weather now became oppressively hot, and, in the 
absence of any shade to be got, it told severely upon my 
system. A lesser evil, though attended with not a little 
discomfort and even pain, was that in a few days the skin 
began to peel off my face. I tried to get what relief I 
could by having the muddy water poured over my body 
by the niggers. There was a solidity about this perform- 
ance which hardly consorts with ordinary notions about 
bathing ; the operation, far from executing the function 
of cleansing the body, rather contributed to the deposit 
of dirt ; yet, under the circumstances, there was a coarse 
physical delight in it. At any rate, it helped for a while 



MASSOUAH. 



163 



to make me cool. It was just the sort of weather and 
condition of life to develop all the fund of Mark Tapley- 
ism that might be latent in the soul of a man ; and I was 
thankful for the negative advantage that we were not 
pestered with flies, or run over by rats when we lay down, 
as my experience was of Massouah, both by day and by 
night. I ran a serious risk, however, of being prostrated 
by the sunstroke, and no medical aid was within reach of 
us ; which did not serve to enliven the prospect. 

Starting again at sundown, we continued to travel all 
night, buoyed with the hope that we should get to a 
mountain, or a hillock, in the middle of the desert by six 
o' clock the next morning, though it would require smart 
travelling to do it. The stillness of our transit was un- 
broken, save by the howls of the jackal or the hyeena 
which proclaimed that they were not far off ; and, as 
Munzinger Pasha and myself kept up a continuous con- 
versation on various topics (for he was decidedly of an 
inquiring turn of mind), the night sped pleasantly away. 
Many of the soldiers accompanying us having been post- 
carriers, we had the advantage of knowing exactly where 
we were, on our way, at any time, and their experience 
justified the confidence we reposed in them. At sunrise 
we came up to a cairn, to which every soldier contributed 
a stone as he went by it. This struck me as being 
altogether unlike anything I had ever seen among the 
Arabs. Their practice is to visit their dead on the first 
day after Kamadan, when they take cakes and other 
delicacies to be consumed beside the grave of their de- 
parted friends ; and it is somewhat difficult to reconcile 

m 2 



1 64 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



this exhibition of devotion to the memory of the departed 
with the small affection generally evinced for them in 
life,, for with the exception of the great deference paid to 
parents, and of the compulsory support of the mother, 
whether rich or poor, their social relations are not marked 
by any warmth of feeling. 

About seven, an hour after we had expected to arrive 
at the point, we reached a round mountain, where we 
gladly dismounted, and, carpets being laid down for us, 
partook of coffee. This was by way of refresher, or whet 
to the appetite, for in a short time a bullock was either 
bought or seized (I don't know which, since, when the 
Pasha travels, the country may be said to belong to him), 
and forthwith slaughtered, to the supreme delight of the 
black soldiers, whose blood-shot eyes literally danced 
with delight at the prospect of obtaining what to them 
was an unheard of luxury at Massouah. But for this ocular 
excitement, they betrayed no agitation ; and it is a 
curious fact that, whatever may be the treat you offer 
these people after they become Mahommedans, they accept 
the favour with the repose of well-bred indifference. 

Considerably set up by the rest and sleep we got here, 
in the evening we started afresh in this very hot district, 
and arrived at a place called, I think, Oeet. Here was 
a running stream, admirably calculated to gladden the 
parched traveller's heart, and our horses plunged into 
it with evident satisfaction. Both men and beasts indeed 
enjoyed the welcome provision of Nature ; and our 
course now ran through rushes and rank tropical river 
growth. Soon we caught sight, in the distance, of about 



ORET. 



twenty huts, shaped like English wheat-stacks. As we 
made for the small settlement; out came about a hundred 
black fellows, who were quick at discerning the import- 
ance of the travellers. They saluted the Pasha with 
profound respect. The principal hut was speedily cleared 
out for our reception, and couches improvised for us by 
bullock's hide being stretched out and strapped on to 
four wooden legs, — which was an excellent contrivance for 
ministering to our ease and comfort. Propping up my 
back with my saddle-bags, I got all the luxurious sensa- 
tion of reclining on a stately sofa. After a delightful 
bathe in the river, which revived me after the exhaustion 
of a heavy day's journey, the coffee acquired increased 
virtue ; and, when I add that another bullock was killed 
(I really believe this liberal consumption of beef warrants 
the suspicion that we did not pay our way through the 
territory !), I began to think I could make myself very 
contented and happy here for a week. It was such a 
change from the gloomy sterility of the desert that it 
renovated me at once. Here I saw the bustard in great 
numbers. They are the favourite food of the Arabs, 
who, as a rule, neglect all sustenance of this sort. One 
we killed was very delicious ; it had the rich flavour of 
the wild turkey. 

A wealthy Abyssinian chief, or one of a tribe between 
the Abyssinian proper and the Desert Arab, came down 
to pay his respects to the Pasha, bringing with him a 
supply of sour milk and two fat young cows. After a 
prolonged interview, during which he sedulously retailed 
all the gossip respecting the various chiefs, he retired • 



i66 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



and I was glad to fall asleep, leaving Munzinger to 
attend to State ceremonials as long as to him seemed fit. 

The great feature of this place was the abundance of 
fresh water, and much might easily be achieved in the 
way of cultivating the soil, if only the requisite energy 
were applied to it. I was surprised to observe that the 
native troops did not seem to miss vegetable fare ; 
evidently they were perfectly satisfied with the wretched 
Abyssinian bread and rice. The people are far from 
being industrious, and it certainly is to be deeply regretted 
that they are not made to apply themselves to agriculture. 
But it were vain to expect that anything can be made 
out of the Egyptians without the element of active 
European supervision. To the inquiry why they don't 
do this or that thing the stereotyped answer is that 
" God is great, and Mahommed is his prophet ! " It has 
never been done before, they will reason with you; and 
why should we be asked to do it ? 

Our ride the next morning conducted us pleasantly 
between lofty mountains through a ravine frequently 
intersected with streams of water ; and I retain a lively 
memory of a brief interval of rest beneath the cool shade 
of an enormous tree, which sheltered a large number of 
goats, the property of their peasant proprietors. The 
scenery was still very lovely, with the variety of mountain 
forms, and we were regaled with the several melancholy 
cooings of numerous Abyssinian doves, of which there 
are many beautiful varieties ; in fact, as each succeeding 
day separated us still further from the desert, bird life 
became more frequent. 



MA SHALL AT. 



167 



Oar next point of arrival was Mashallat, where there 
is a convict depot. About four hundred Egyptians are 
imprisoned here. Some of these rascals had faces of the 
vilest character I ever encountered, and I would gladly 
have given anything I had to secure a few skulls for my 
friends of the Anthropological Society. Many, or, 
rather, most of them were sentenced for the perpetration 
of outrageous crimes. They were, what they looked, 
demons in human shape, capable of any atrocity, and 
they were being served after the fashion of demons. 

They were in a long shed thatched with rushes, and 
open before and behind, and the filthy condition of the 
place speedily revealed itself to our nostrils as we ap- 
proached. Several of them were in chains ; but the out- 
posts were so numerous around that there was no possible 
chance of escape. Our arrival at the settlement created 
a great sensation. One case of hardship impressed my 
mind with an abiding sense of its severity. To avoid the 
military conscription, the young man, who could speak 
English, had left his native village in Egypt and fled 
to Liverpool. When he failed to put in appearance at 
the time required by the law of Egypt, the authorities 
seized and confined both his parents ; and they were 
detained in custody until intelligence of the parental 
troubles induced him to return. His return, however, 
did not serve to release him from the penal obligation 
of his desertion, which is reckoned a great crime ; and 
accordingly he was transported to Abyssinia for the 
term of his natural life. The labour on which he was 
engaged together with his associates was the cutting a 



i68 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



passage through the mountain with crowbars. It was 
heavy work, which necessarily would occupy considerable 
time in its execution ; but I have no doubt of its final 
accomplishment. 

The aspect of these unfortunate creatures bespoke the 
terrible meagreness of their dietary, which consisted 
solely of boiled beans; and water is their only drink, 
coffee — the privation of which they must feel most 
acutely — being unheard of. As I remarked before, they 
were treated after the manner of demons. They all wore 
a forlorn look, which plainly told of the absence of all 
hope of returning to their native villages. I never saw 
more woe-begone wretches ; they seemed to be just able 
to keep up an animal existence ; and they were in the 
hands of despotic task-masters who are free and ready 
to lay them down and bastinado them at will. Enormities 
and atrocities of the like kind are, of course, but illustra- 
tions of a rule such as that of the Viceroy ; who yet is 
permitted to take up new possessions in the heart of 
Africa, to the utter destruction of the happiness of the 
poor natives. I paid a visit to the scene of these 
convicts 5 operations, where I found them at work in a 
distressingly abject and heartless condition. They were 
compelled to labour without intermission ; and, if they 
paused for but a moment, a blow descended on their 
backs by way of stimulus. 

Stopping at this place for the night, we enjoyed the 
shelter of the tent of the officer in charge of the convict 
establishment, naturally enough placed at the disposal of 
the Pasha; Munzinger reposing on the bullock's hide 



MASH ALL AT. 



169 



bed while I was content, like an old traveller, to lie on 
the ground. The officials, as befitted the occasion, 
exerted themselves to give us all the hospitality in 
their power \ and we luxuriated in roast chicken, 
Abyssinian cheese, and dauby bread. In spite of the 
precautions taken to intercept their access, two convicts, 
who had been desperately treated and brought to the 
verge of starvation, seeing a European Pasha, forced 
their way into our presence and, prostrating themselves 
on their faces at our feet, prayed for mercy. They were 
being summarily dragged off (of course, to be bastinadoed), 
when I inquired what it was the poor wretches particularly 
complained of ; whereupon they stated that they were 
supplied with the refuse beans, carefully separated from 
the wholesome mass, and that even these consisted, for 
the most part, of rats' dirt and other filthy mixture. 
There was a fiendish refinement of cruelty in thus treat- 
ing them; and it fully accounted for their dreadfully 
emaciated appearance, which reminded me of the kittens 
commemorated at Massouah, that seemed to say — u We 
are just alive, as you see, with the skin only binding the 
framework of our bones ; and no one will be charitable 
enough to kill us outright." Munzinger directed the issue 
of better beans ; and, if I mistake not, he remonstrated 
privately with the khimekar as to the brutality of his 
treatment. 

The sight cf the misery of these poor wretches filled 
my heart with grief ; and I could not help reflecting on 
the hard lot of numbers of beings in the world, cut off as 
it seems to be from all hope of mitigation, absolutely with- 



170 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



out a ray of comfort in the future, and simply a prolongation 
of a cheerless animal existence. The speculation is 
provoked by such misery : What can be the good of 
many men being born into the world at all ? It was 
some time before I shook off the gloom inspired by this 
scene of woe. 



CHAPTEE XII. 



BEDJUK 



We pursued our journey through the water-course of 
the mountains, making for Bedjuk, which we reckoned 
upon reaching in the evening. On the way we passed 
several Abyssinians, armed with spears, driving bullocks 
and cows, with their humble packs strapped over with 
hide j which is of universal application through the 
country. Upon seeing us approach, the wretched 
oppressed people dashed into the bush and concealed 
themselves, evidently taking us for slave-catchers ; for, 
however it may be denied at Cairo, Slavery thrives right 
and left under the nourishing auspices of the Egyptian 
Government ; and they are, besides, in perpetual dread of 
being pressed into its service as soldiers. 

Here we saw two most beautiful codors (large antelopes 
with spiral horns), of which Munzinger brought down the 



172 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



female at a long shot. We were now getting on to 
higher mountains, which were well timbered, and buck 
became plentiful, as game generally had gradually 
become. Partridge and guinea-fowl especially got to be 
very abundant, as may be judged from the fact that I can 
safely say I have seen flocks of guinea-fowl numbering a 
thousand. Springs of water also spurted at intervals; 
and in their neighbourhood it always is most difficult for 
either horse or mule to get over the ground, which 
assumes a rocky character; yet the grateful sight of 
fresh water amply atones for every difficulty. Close to 
one of these springs we passed a vast herd of large red 
buck ; one of which, fat and in good condition, made an 
excellent repast for us when we halted for the night at 
Bedjuk, which we reached at six 0' clock in the evening. 
And thankful I was to have the rest. Fourteen months 
of hard travel had considerably reduced my physical 
energy and at the same time depressed my spirits. I 
therefore was quite tired out, my mind shaded with 
gloom ; and I cannot record the circumstance here 
without expressing my gratitude to Munzinger Pasha for 
the sympathetic kindness with which he behaved towards 
me in that uncheerful condition. Even as he had recently 
expressed his growing liking for me, I found by this time 
that he really was a very good fellow. Like the English- 
man, the Swiss requires to be known well before mutual 
appreciation can ensue ; and Munzinger Pasha had 
already developed the tenderness of his character. He 
applied himself to the provision of delicacies for the 
refreshment of his patient. Fowl broth was made for me, 



BEDJUK. 



373 



and I can well remember that I relished it exceedingly ; 
and a cow was killed, for our encampment had now been 
amplified by the addition of extra soldiers from the 
convict establishment and of sundry Abyssinians who had 
sought the protection of our company. 

The woodland scenery of Bedjuk was strikingly 
beautiful, and the charms of Nature were enhanced by 
the vocal activity of numerous birds of various kinds. 
The peculiar melancholy notes of the pigeons were sin- 
gularly pronounced. This sylvan melody operated upon 
the susceptible souls of the natives, who began themselves 
to sing. The echo of their mirth was taken up by the 
mountains ; and occasional flashes of lightning, empha- 
sized by grand rolls of thunder ever and anon, rendered 
the scene delightfully grand. 

The Abyssinians are most skilful in their perform- 
ances upon stringed instruments. They vary social life 
with their national music, which is not destitute of beauty. 
Calling one or two friends together, they fall to the 
execution of concerts without saying a word. Their 
principal instrument is shaped like a bow, the base being 
formed of the dried shell of a large gourd ; and the cat- 
gut strings are struck by a small stick. Musical taste is 
diffused through the people ; in which respect they 
are very different from the Egyptians ; and music is 
markedly associated with occasions of grief and afflic- 
tion. 

Bedjuk enjoys the advantage of numerous water- 
springs, and is refreshed with a profusion of tropical 
vegetation. 



174 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



I saw several large herds of cattle, the increased 
productiveness of which, however, is already arrested by 
the greedy policy of the Viceroy who lays burdens upon 
the people which they are quite unable to bear. It is 
but a repetition of the old story — Taxes ! Taxes ! 
Taxes ! It is^ simply impossible that they can be met ; 
they are out of all proportion to the ability of the people 
to discharge them ; and, when taxes are collected years 
in advance, what but overwhelming ruin can be antici- 
pated ? In default of payment, which under the circum- 
stances cannot be made, seizure of the cattle takes place. 
They are slaughtered only with a view to obtaining their 
hides, which, as I have already observed, fetch a napoleon 
apiece at Suez, and their carcasses are left to putrid 
waste. No possible fertility can repair such frightful 
ravages. The drain upon the stock of cattle has begun 
to tell severely ; signs of impoverishment are everywhere 
visible; and the arrival of strangers near their huts 
is regarded by the inhabitants as synonymous with 
the design of seizing their cattle. Nor does the op- 
pression take only that form, heavy and disastrous as it 
unquestionably is. Despotism holds nothing sacred. 
Property is recognised in no shape whatever. Even the 
domestic hearth is ruthlessly invaded ; and it is a well- 
authenticated fact that Egyptian troops, in bands of 5 or 6, 
enter the huts of these defenceless Abyssinians and, select- 
ing boys or girls, forcibly remove them from their homes, 
appropriating them to themselves as slaves or concubines. 
The relentless course of terrorism thus established already 
bears fruit in the obvious demoralisation of the natives. 



BEDJUK. 



i75 



From a race of hardy, high-spirited savages, they 
rapidly degenerate into a skulking, cowed people. Such 
are the ethnologic results of the benign rule of His 
Highness the Viceroy of Egypt. 

It is considered a great privilege to be sent to Abys- 
sinia on the Viceroy's service ; and it has been his policy 
to extend the attraction ; besides which the claims upon 
official gratitude are signally discharged by the transfer 
to this remote field for the exercise of all the arts of 
jobbery, abreption, and oppression. To talk of the re- 
dress of grievances, or of any protection against cruel 
wrong-doing, is to talk of what no one outside a lunatic 
asylum can possibly expect. To invoke justice is simply 
to invite and insure punishment for the audacity ; as in 
the case of three cows I saw forcibly taken from an 
Abyssinian, whose complaint was followed by his imme- 
diate arrest and the infliction of fifty blows upon the 
lower part of his body ; when, of course, he was brought 
to see the error of his ways and to confess that he was 
not dispossessed by the Egyptian; who was magnani- 
mous enough to pay the khimekar a small sum for the 
service he had rendered to the cause of truth and justice. 
Might is right ; and it is observable that officialdom 
thrives well under the delightful system. Whatever it 
be, or however it be, the Jacks-in-office must get some- 
thing out of it. To the Oriental mind that is the con- 
summation of propriety. 

This portion of Abyssinia has a large population ; and 
for the natives I should take the climate to be exceed- 
ingly healthy, as I have here observed that the inhabitants 



176 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



reach more advanced ages than those attained in any 
part of Africa I have yet travelled in. The women, also, 
share in this longevity. With their venerable skins 
tough as buckram (oh so different from the sappy 
tenderness of youth ! ), ancient dames, to whom I shall 
be doing no injustice in fixing their ages at from 90 to 
100 years, may be seen lying without their huts in the 
sun, the solar rays supplementing their deficient natural 
warmth. This habit of lying out in the sun is peculiar 
to Orientals ; and I have noticed in Egypt that it is re- 
sorted to in cases of illness, when the patients are regu- 
larly ranged outside their doors. Bleeding is a favorite 
resource of the Faculty, and there is a firm persuasion that 
it is to be applied sucessfully to barren women, after the 
analogy of our treatment of brood mares. I saw two or 
three submit to the operation in the arm for various 
supposed disorders, and part with a deal of the vital 
fluid : but it is held to be of great efficacy in the promotion 
of the maternal aspirations of the ladies ; some of whom 
were of no mean comeliness. I must do the sex the 
justice of adding that they are famous makers of lebbin, 
which is a delicious provision for the climate. 

As all Africans do, the natives repose implicit faith in, 
and have profound admiration of, their medicine-men ; 
who may be seen about with their hide-strapped bundles 
of dried roots of medicinal herbs, which they profess to 
have obtained from vast distances in the interior of the 
country. After the fashion of their European brethren, 
they pound up their stock-in-trade after the due degree 
of care in the selection of the diverse materials, and ad- 



BED J UK. 



177 



minister their mixtures with a solemnity of demeanour 
which; I am inclined to suspect, adds not a little to the 
healing virtues of their nostrums. Especially in these 
days of universal scepticism, Faith is a valuable quality in 
every department of life \ and I am not sure that we 
should be altogether justified in sneering at the simple 
belief of these poor barbarous Abyssinians in their 
medicine-men, when we have to face the phenomenon of 
Homoeopathy in civilised and educated Europe. But I 
suppose that Sir Benjamin Br die was right when he 
consoled an eminent brother practitioner of the healing* 
art with the reflection that the human mind is given to 
the entertainment of the grossest delusions, and that, 
if Homoeopathy did not occupy the vacant corner, some 
other equivalent absurdity would be certain to take its 
place. Against Stupidity, says the German poet, the Gods 
themselves are powerless ; and wide is the sway of Stu- 
pidity in this world. 

Seriously, these medicine-men are said to be highly 
skilful herbalists, in which respect they remind me 
strongly of my old friends the Zulu Kafirs. 

These tribes do not belong to the same order of fanati- 
cism as many of the Egyptians \ and I must add that 
they include many Eoman Catholics in their number. 
Several Christian villages, dating from a long period, 
are distributed over the territory ; and women may be 
seen with small silver crosses inserted in their hair. 
These Christian communities are a very devotional and 
orderly people ; and how Christendom can patiently con- 
sent to expose them to the dire severities inflicted upon 



i 7 8 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



ttem by their Mahommedan oppressors, passes my under- 
standing. They are liable, as I shall continue to repeat, 
to have both their children and their cattle confiscated at 
any moment. Of justice for their wrongs, or of anything 
like redress for their injuries, they unfortunately can 
entertain no hope whatever. They are under the malefi- 
cent shade of a despotism which, sublimely selfish, recks 
not of the misery it inflicts, and whose only concern for 
its unhappy subjects centres in the payment by them of 
taxes without end. These imposts must be wrung out of 
the poor wretches at any cost of suffering. Only those 
who have personally witnessed the operation of what is 
mildly called "the policy of the Viceroy" can have any 
adequate notion of what it really means. Its ghastly 
significance can be measured only by close inspection. 

Now, as a small illustration of hardships of this sort, 
let me say that the chief of a Christian settlement, which 
is by no means an extensive one, has to contribute 
annually the sum of seven thousand dollars to the revenue 
of the Viceroy's Mahommedan Government. This sum has 
to be paid to the day. The word "arrear" is not to be 
found in the Egyptian vocabulary, while u punctuality ;; 
is not only there in the biggest of big type, but most re- 
ligiously enforced as the highest of civic duties. At the 
risk of incurring the charge of repetition, I will define 
the whole duty of man in Egypt as consisting in the 
ceaseless and unrepining payment of taxes. Well, to 
proceed with my narrative. There is a currency, all over 
this part of Abyssinia, of the Marie Louise (Austrian) 
dollar. How the dollar came to be introduced into the 



BED J UK. 



179 



country, I cannot tell. But it is unquestionable that 
there is an immense stock of these dollars in it. They 
bespeak a very gratifying degree of ready-money wealth, 
it is not to be denied; and never will the Viceroy be 
satisfied until he has extracted every one out of the soil. 
It would not square with the eternal fitness of things, as 
understood by him, to suffer the soul-destroying accumu- 
lations to remain unappropriated. Have them all he will 
and must ; so he has annexed the country to his do- 
minions, and a rich haul he has already made out of it 
both with the Marie Louise dollars, and with the cattle in 
default thereof. The officials, resolute to obtain the coin 
(by which they are spared all the trouble of seizing and 
slaughtering the cattle and sending the hides for realiza- 
tion to Cairo), insist upon payment in that particular 
form. As has happened in the Zulu country, where the 
circulation of our English coinage has been defeated by 
burial of the metallic wealth, so it has occurred here. The 
poor pillaged folk hide their possessions in the earth, and 
thus strive to hold on to their tangible and portable all ; 
but Egyptian officials are famous proficients in the art of 
screwing it out ; and, where there is the slightest reason 
to suspect that the treasure has been secreted, the 
bastinado is freely employed to enforce delivery. 

And the bastinado will not fail of all but universal 
success. In process of time, when all the available 
treasure has been gotten out of them by that most potent 
of means, recourse will be had to the cattle, which simply 
will be slaughtered to extermination. 

In short, here will be realised what has already taken 



iSo 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



place with his subjects on the borders of the Nile and in 
the land of Goshen, where fertile crops are grown only 
for the purpose of being seized. Gambling is an indul- 
gence at once expensive and destructive. The hold it 
acquires on its victim strengthens with increase of 
years, and suffers no restraint of prudence. "When a 
despot turns gainbler, the fate of millions of his subjects 
is involved in his ruinous play. 

The Egyptian troops being the conquerors of the 
country, it is not surprising to find that the natives of 
Egypt are highly favoured : and even liberated convicts, 
originally sent here, occupy a better position than the 
natives of Abyssinia. The countrv is overrun with the 
worst class of Orientals possible to be pictured by the 
most active imagination: and crime, under the circum- 
stances, is but the natural fruit of the social environment. 
It can readily be understood that the records of crime 
bear no proportion to the commission of crime. Deeds 
of violence are shrouded in obscurity; yet they frequently 
emerge into the upper air of public notoriety. In Bedjuk. 
a few years ago, was murdered an Italian, married to a 
poor Abyssinian woman, who kept a small goods store, 
the urgent motive of the murder being the sum of one 
dollar upon his person. I saw his widow and her half- 
bred boy, — a little fellow with lustrous eyes and of a 
smart bearing ; a striking anthropological specimen of the 
mixture of Italian and Abyssinian blood. By virtue of 
his intelligence he was the source of great interest to the 
chief of the tribe to which his mother, on the loss of her 
protector, returned. 



BED J UK. 



181 



Tlie country, as we journeyed onwards, lost none of its 
picturesqueness. It spread before us an extensive plain 
surrounded by lofty mountains ; and we sighted two 
magnificent lions (for we had now penetrated into the 
region of lions) , these monarchs of the forest abounding 
where large herds of cattle are. Let the reader not 
smile at the parallel : but they are given to making 
severe raids upon their neighbours, like the despot of the 
soil, though I must do the majestic quadruped the 
justice to add that he is not wasteful after the example 
of his biped analogue. 

The day was very hot, far more favourable for lounging 
than for exercise ; and we had a numerous deputation of 
chiefs of various tribes who came down bearing presents 
of cows and goats and lebbin. Munzinger Pasha, as- 
suming his proudest official manner, gave them audience. 
Unfortunately Munzinger does not rejoice in a beautiful 
visage ; in fact, I might put the remark into the positive 
form of saying that he is very ugly ; and the absence of 
teeth in his head but helped to emphasise his ill-favoured 
looks. With all his efforts, therefore, he failed to sustain 
a comparison with some of these men, who were of stately 
presence, and whose teeth are unrivalled in the world for 
their whiteness and regularity. 

One of these chiefs was, I think, the brother of 
Munzinger' s wife, — a very presentable man, who was 
arrayed, I remember, in a robe of Indian texture with 
pink border. As became his rank and connexion, he 
came down riding upon a camel, attended by a large 
retinue of the magnates of his camp, and was received 



182 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



with every mark of respect by the Paslia. He was "highly 
intelligent and remarkable for the ease and grace of his 
manners ; and he was accompanied by his son, who shared 
the paternal gifts of Nature. In this semi- Arabic region 
it is an advantage to have your successor by your side, 
the first question asked being, Have you a son ? If 
the answer should be in the negative, they cast their 
eyes to the ground and say no more; whereas the 
presence of the heir inspires them with an affectionate 
regard. 

Munzinger himself has adopted the son of his wife by 
her previous marriage ; and, though the young man is a 
thorough Abyssinian, he holds a Major's commission in 
the Viceroy's Army, and also acts in a judicial capacity in 
the divan. His youth — he is only twenty- one — apparently 
is reckoned as no disqualification for the discharge of 
such office ; to which enlarged experience of the world 
and gravity of temper are usually thought to be indis- 
pensable. Thus he combines the levity of juvenility with 
the absolutism of military life ; and I am sure it will 
occasion no shock of surprise to the reader to learn that, 
when either plaintiff or defendant makes a remark which 
His Honour thinks objectionable, His Honour jumps up 
from the seat of dignity and whacks the offender in the 
face. This I am bound to disclose, from a sense of the 
imperative claims of truth to have promulgation all the 
world over. At the same time I thankfully acknowledge 
his personal kindness to myself. His civility and atten- 
tion to me could not well be surpassed. When I was ill, 
he would bring me the coffee with his own hands ; and 



BEDJUK. 



altogether I have no hesitation in saying that he was the 
best friend I had in Abyssinia. 

Some Aden Arabs also waited upon us. Their immi- 
gration took place under the special encouragement of 
the local authorities, who arranged for the payment by 
them of reduced taxes on the condition that they should 
take up arms in behalf of the Viceroy in the event of an 
Abyssinian rising. A few native slaves were in their 
train. They are a bad class of Arabs, but one, I was 
told, growing into importance as a wealthy community. 
As I have already observed, the Banyans have been the 
most successful immigrants ; which fact is accounted for 
by the circumstance that they are under the protection of 
the English flag, and free from the extortions levied 
upon their less favoured neighbours. 

All the night long we continued to be disturbed by 
the roaring of lions, and on one or two occasions they 
could not have been far distant from us. 

M. Perrout, who had preceded us some days before, 
overtook us here. He represented that he had been 
twelve days in the desert upon very limited food. His 
horse had got sore-backed; and he found his saddle, 
which had been exposed at night, had actually been 
gnawed to pieces by the hygenas, attracted to it by the 
copious discharge of the wound on its padding. The 
effect of this misadventure was that he had to ride upon 
the bare back of the poor animal, which being a bag of 
bones rendered the operation not unlike that of riding a 
hurdle. 

On our way hence we saw great herds of ante- 



184 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



lopes. My liorse proving unequal to the work, I 
allowed the Pasha to precede me ; and, knowing that I 
had ample time to overtake him before night-fall, I 
followed at leisure. Coming to a river which the moun- 
tain torrents had agitated and swollen considerably, the 
natives in attendance upon me swam across, leading their 
horses by the reins ; and I was directed to do the same. 
While I was engaged in divesting myself of my garments, 
one of the two goats prudently reserved for the night's 
meal lest we should not reach our destination on that 
evening was suddenly pounced upon by a large leopard. 
Seizing the gun from the hand of the attendant nearest 
to rne, I fired and broke the animal's fore-leg. Its fury 
upon finding its shoulder dislocated was terrific. It span 
round with the goat in its mouth, as a terrier would with 
a rat, until up rushed another Abyssinian with a stout 
spear, which he sent right through the lungs. It was a 
scene of excitement; and the excitement was most 
welcome, calculated as it always is to drive away agues, 
fevers, and all other maladies of the like nature. The 
animal died shortly from loss of blood, and the look of 
impotent fury with which it regarded the goat, because 
it had not been able to execute its fell purpose, was most 
striking. 

After crossing the river, we were traversing the thick 
woodland and had got opposite to another ford of the 
river when, to my astonishment, I heard a strong 
Abyssinian eunuch lustily shouting, c Harem ! Harem ! 9 
and bidding us clear out of the way of the ladies. But I 
was in no humour to comply with the demand ; and, full 



BEDJUK. 



of an enthusiasm which took no account of his inability to 
understand English, I bade him know that I never yet 
was afraid of woman, and never meant to be. Soon 
appeared the camel freighted with its howdah occupied 
by the ladies. As if it had had enough of it, the camel 
proceeded to sink on its knees, and the ladies shrieked 
furiously ; whereupon another eunuch, who represented an 
important part of the female commissariat in the large 
bag full of dates he was carrying on his back, rushed up 
to the terrified dames and, by way of stopping their row, 
crammed a handful of dates down their throats. This 
was instead of the eau-de-Cologne, as we should apply it; 
and I must confess that they took the recipe with 
evident satisfaction. 

My anxiety to render what assistance I could in the 
transport of the ladies was defeated by the eunuchs, who 
implored us to leave and not to invade the privacy of the 
ladies. When I found that my generosity was not duly 
appreciated, I began to rail at the stupidity of an un- 
grateful world ; and any fears I might have entertained 
respecting their safety in getting across were allayed by 
the reflection that the eunuchs would, for their own sake, 
take all necessary precautions against danger. Accord- 
ingly I went on my way, nor was it long before I saw 
them upon the bank, I suppose invoking Mahommed to 
help them in their extremity. In the whole course of my 
wanderings in Egypt, let me say, I never saw a Mahom- 
medan woman at her prayers. Though my intercourse with 
Oriental life has been of the closest character, T never 
observed even a tendency on the part of the sex to 



i86 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



devotion. And why should they have a care in that 
direction, seeing that their accepted theory has it that 
woman is a perishable toy, without the responsible 
adjunct of a soul ? 

A tremendous thunderstorm overtook us on the way 
with the suddenness usual here. The flashes of lightning 
were most vivid, the rolls of thunder sublimely grand. 
It was a spectacle of unexampled severity; and its 
repressiveness was increased by the roars of a lion, 
who, as if provoked by the artillery of the sky, between 
the lulls of the storm asserted his own claim to be heard. 
At that moment we were ascending a mountain pass ; 
and on a sudden it became positively dark; and I was 
startled by my negroes darting back with the exclama- 
tion that a lion stopped the way. It was true that I 
could not see him myself ; but that only made me feel the 
insecurity of my position all the more, as these men 
never mistake in sighting large game. While I con- 
tinued in doubt, a roar of surpassing power directed my 
eye to the spot ; and there, sure enough, he stood with 
head erect as though defying the thunder. Just at that 
instant of time there was a heavy fall of hail, so severe 
and sharp that it stung me through my boots and, pierc- 
ing my nose and ears, caused them to bleed. It was 
rather like the descent of acute sections of ice, and added 
another element to our confusion. But it had the good 
effect of scaring the lion away. What might have 
ensued had we not been thus relieved of his presence, it 
is not pleasant even to speculate. 

There was not a sign of cultivation hereabouts, the 



BED J UK. 



187 



vegetation consisting* of shrubs and creepers which had 
the odour of the orange. 

For a considerable time I was left alone, my atten- 
dants having precipitately fled upon seeing the lion ; and, 
feeling cold without and hot within as if a fever had 
ensued upon the chill, I got off my horse and allayed the 
heat by partaking freely of the ice. It worked a speedy 
relief, as it happily did with me when I was prostrated 
with African fever, upon my return from Central Africa, 
when all hope of my recovery was given up. There can 
be no question that ice then was the agent of my restora- 
tion to health ; I may be said almost to have lived upon 
it, eating as much as two pounds at a time. I employed 
myself thus until the return of the negroes, who were 
relieved at the cessation of the hail and the departure of 
the tiger, but greatly distressed by the thunder ; which, 
indeed, no African can stand. I was drenched to the 
skin, and felt both cold and exhausted ; so I resolved to 
make straight for some native huts which we opportunely 
sighted, and to seek shelter with the inmates for the 
night. 

It was the rainy season, and heavy downpours soon 
proclaimed its regularity. 

I enjoyed the hospitality of a kind-hearted chief, and 
my only regret was that my limited knowledge of his 
native tongue did not enable me to converse with the 
good man as freely and as copiously as I could have 
wished, for he lavished attentions upon me. We had a 
meal which consisted of Indian corn bread, boiled beef, 
and lebbin, — a very comfortable repast to which ample 



i88 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



justice was done. The hut was scrupulously swept out, 
and I enjoyed sound rest for the night, with a feeling of 
security against wild beasts ; a wicker-work gate, some- 
thing like a wattle hurdle, being set before the door. 

He told me there was a number of lions about. Only 
the day before he had seen six ; which he interpreted as 
the sign of tempestuous weather, the habits of birds and 
beasts serving as almanacs to these rude observers of 
Nature ; and producing a curiously carved tally, of some 
hard wood, he marked the past storm, as he had notched 
the record of every storm he had witnessed for years 
gone by. In fine, they seemed to preserve records of 
everything that impressed them. But the "Viceroy is 
likely to interfere seriously with this quiet pursuit of the 
observation of natural phenomena. 

The women here enjoy exceptional privileges, and 
their social worth is recognised far beyond the standard 
of Egyptian ideas. They wait upon you, are about the 
household openly, and join in conversation with the men 
in public ; and this salutary freedom is unrestrained 
until they are taken in bondage by the Egyptians who 
enforce the discipline of the veil upon them. Some of 
them are highly attractive ; but their number is limited, 
the harem being replenished from this source. When a 
strikingly beautiful flower blooms, it is of course trans- 
planted to that vice-regal bed. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 



KEREN. 

Keeen was reached the next day. 

Here the first object that attracted my observation was 
the large encampment of four hundred huts occupied by 
Soudan black troops, foot with artillery, — the finest 
black troops I ever saw. Originally slaves, they have 
been converted into an army of oppression for Abyssinia, 
the natives of which and the Soudans hate one another 
with a fierce hatred. They find ample and congenial 
employment in raids, seizing corn and cattle from the in- 
habitants of the Bogos territory which the Viceroy has 
recently claimed as his own. It is a cheap mode of 
provisioning an army; and you cannot satisfy the 
African better than by giving him his fill of beef. This 
he gets without stint here, eight cows being slaughtered 
daily for the use of the camp. And talk of excitement ! 



190 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



It is memorable to see the excitement that pervades the 
camp when an animal is killed. It is immediately 
chopped up and distributed ; the favourite mode of cook- 
ing being to roast it over a bright fire. When several 
cows are despatched at once, they celebrate the occasion 
by forming a ring round the carcasses and executing a 
war-dance; for which one, taking up a club, sings the 
solo, the time being marked with the club. The chorus 
is an animated one, somewhat after the strains of the 
Zulus. 

These Soudan troops, on parade, wear white trousers 
and tunics, and, equipped with fez and boots, make a 
very fine show indeed ; the closest attention being given 
to their tidiness. As we approached the gate of the 
encampment, the great thorn tree, placed there to keep 
off the hyaenas, was removed to admit of our passage. 
A high earthen embankment, surmounted by acacia 
branches and encompassed with a ditch, protected the 
encampment, and gave it the air of a fortified place ; 
and the idea of employing thorn boughs really is not so 
simple as it looks when we know that the older these 
get the tougher they become, that they will last for five 
or six years, and that the hyaenas will not face the 
prickly opposition. 

The bugle sounded ; the guards presented arms. ITy 
arrival, it was easy to see, was not unexpected, and I was 
conducted to a hut evidently prepared for my accommoda- 
tion ; but there was no sign that night of Munzinger 
Pasha, whom I had agreed to meet here. He was en- 
grossed with the company of his sable Abyssinian wife ; 



KEREN. 



191 



and I readily excused his inattention to myself. Besides, 
it was politic to maintain a certain dignified reserve of 
demeanour before the camp ; and, as I have before 
recorded, good fellow as he was, he rather liked to 
indulge in a high and mighty style on his own account. 
His reception of me on the following day, however, was 
so formal and stiff that I did not care to remain in his 
tent for any length of time. It reminded me of Dr. 
Beke's experience of him, when he told the Doctor he 
had too much John Bull in him; to which the meek 
reply was — " A little more John Bull in you would not 
be amiss ; " in which particular I coincide with his 
critic. This was on Saturday; and the honour of my 
presence was bespoke at a review to be given next 
morning. 

Of course I was anxious to assist at the military spec- 
tacle, admirably adapted to astonish the natives of the 
newly acquired Bogos territory; but I could not make 
my appearance upon my nag, which was quite jaded, and 
it would never do for me to mount my donkey on an oc- 
casion of such importance. I confided my difficulty to a 
very intelligent black major in command of the garrison, 
who by the way had fought in Mexico and spoke a few 
words of English ; and at seven in the morning (every- 
thing in this part of the world having to be done early) 
a horse awaited me ; the band struck up the Viceroy's 
Hymn ; and the troops filed out of the encampment. T 
prepared to follow, but was told I should not appear for 
at least half an hour more ; at the end of which time I 
caught sight of Munzinger Pasha in the gorgeous uni- 



192 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



form of brigadier-general of tlie Egyptian army, which: 
extorted the admiration of the Arab and nigger be- 
holders. The coming event had drawn together a vast 
concourse of spectators, and hundreds upon hundreds of 
wild Abyssinians had arrived from the interior to witness 
it. 

We went on to a vast plain, situate between the vil- 
lages of Sanheit and Keren* and backed by the moun- 
tains and forests. The rugged environment was in keep- 
ing with the whole exhibition, and gave it a character of 
its own. The band discoursed one or two ridiculous 
Turkish airs, which, at the suggestion of Munzinger, 
were followed by that lovely melody which will certainly 
embalm the memory of Tom Moore, and which is such a 
favourite all over the East, — c The Last Eose of Summer/ 
It was a compliment kindly designed for my gratifica- 
tion, and the pathos of the tune in this ultima Thule 
would touch the least sentimental ; nor was I too Stoic to 
yield to the influence of the associations evoked by it ; yet 
my reverie was dashed with the conviction that I literally 
was alone here, and that, after all our labours for their ad- 
vantage, they were exceedingly jealous of our trading in 
the country and thus interfering with their own notions 
and modes of life. There is not an English trader in the 
whole extent of the territory, and the only Englishman I 
ever heard of as residing in Abyssinia was an Abyssinian 
Colonel Kirkham. 

* In the rear of Keren is a mountain appropriately named the 
Mountain of Apes, where some of the largest baboons are domiciled. 



KEREN. 



*93 



When the band ceased/ the military evolutions began. 
They were executed most creditably, and I was particu- 
larly struck by their target-firing, which was indeed very 
good. An awful sight was a Circassian general, or other 
officer in command, who kept his native steed — all neck 
and tail-^-flying about in all directions, he the while 
brandishing his sword wildly in the air. Such was the 
copious energy of this astonishing man's sword-flourishing 
that I was fain to get well out of the range of his formid- 
able blade, lest my head should accidentally be severed by 
it in the terrible warmth of his martial excitement ; so I 
lost no time in placing myself close behind the Pasha 
himself, in the line of his own body-guard. The mighty 
Circassian was drill-master as well as general, and a 
right severe one he was, too ; overwhelming the blunder- 
ing soldiers with tremendous blows of his stick, which 
made the unfortunate niggers turn white with pain and 
fear. The severity of his discipline may perhaps be 
excused by the hardness of the materials he operated 
upon ; but he certainly had drilled them into a state of 
efficiency. Their firing especially was in good time, and 
must have convinced the natives that their spears would 
prove sorry weapons against rifles handled with such 
precision. The martial display indeed had not been lost 
upon them. They looked on in perfect terror. 

At the termination of the review, I saw a large num- 
ber of black officers — black as ebony — in red trousers and 
blue coats. They were evidently pleased with the part 
they had taken in the late demonstration ; and they went 
from one to another, strutting and spitting about in all 





194 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



directions, and in true nigger style inspecting their 
several adornments. 

On our return to the encampment, the Arab officers 
were regaled with a substantial lunch of boiled beef 
and mutton, with coffee for drink ; of which we of course 
partook out of capacious bowls on the floor. Munzinger 
Pasha himself never uses knife and fork, but with the 
rest of the company dipped into the dishes, which con- 
tained the food cut into small pieces. It was far from 
being a lively entertainment. There was no conversa- 
tion ; if the silence was broken, it seemingly was to pass 
small disparaging comments of a personal kind. If the 
Pasha could have dared to produce spirits before the 
company, a more genial condition of things might have 
resulted ; but that was not to be thought of in the pre- 
sence of Mahommedans. The lunch, therefore, degenerated 
into a gross feed, after the manner of Teetotal spreads ; 
at which there may not be much to drink but an amazing 
quantity of eating is got through. These Arabs gorged, 
giving themselves no time to chew the food; and the 
bowls and dishes were cleared out in the twinkling of an 
eye. 

I must not forget to add that about two hundred 
Abyssinian chiefs, anxious to see him, encircled the tent 
of the Pasha. 

What designs they thought I cherished, it is not for 
me to say. I have already spoken of the paternal interest 
evinced in my movements ; and now over the hut I occu- 
pied an Abyssinian soldier was set to keep guard. I 
reposed on a bullock's hide stretcher, which, cool and 



KEREN, 



*95 



agreeable as it was to lie on, did not save me from the 
rats, which ran over my body in scores all the night. 
Altogether, from the sense of espionage and other con- 
siderations, my stay at the camp was not a pleasant one ; 
and my dissatisfaction was increased by the breaking-out 
of a fire, whereupon ensued the most violent excitement, 
no water being at hand to extinguish it. To prevent its 
spread, the usual Abyssinian mode was adopted, of throw- 
ing stones upon the burning mass and pulling down the 
adjoining huts. The fire originated in the carelessness 
of a native who fell asleep while boiling coffee. Since 
my departure from Keren, about four hundred huts have 
been destroyed, as I predicted they would some day be, 
owing to the wilful heedlessness of the people. Instead 
of using all possible precautions against accidents of the 
kind, they do not seem to think of the dangerously in- 
viting material of their habitations. 

These huts are made exclusively of grass, — a grass of 
a fine fibrous character which grows to the height of five 
feet, and of which (disposed in well-shaped bundles) a 
dollar will purchase sufficient for the construction of a 
hut of considerable size. The required degree of archi- 
tectural skill is not despicable. The skeleton of the hut 
is set up with stakes and twigs cut from the forest, and the 
grass woven into the interstices with no little deftness ; 
and these erections will last for years. But the nature 
of the materials and the close continuity of their rows 
render the risk of fire somewhat alarming. There can be 
no question, however, that these huts are the things for 
Abyssinia. They are in every way superior to the huts 

2 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



on the coast, which simply consist of matting fastened 
over sticks. In winter they are cozily warm with the 
fires that are kept in, and gratefully cool in summer, from 
whose heat they provide an enjoyable shade. 

On Monday we went to seek sport in the mountains ; 
and, while we halted for the purpose of surveying the 
ground as to the direction we should take, we encountered 
two baboons. The male, who was an immense animal, 
quite as large (as my companion, Mr. Voight, will testify) 
as the gorilla in the Museum of the Anthropological 
Society, attracted observation by barking at us like a 
huge dog from the ledge of a rock, from which it was 
not easy to distinguish his colour. Turning to see whence 
the barking came, we espied the female swinging off a 
tree and taking her seat beside her mate. She was only 
half his size; but he was a monster. To have killed him 
would have been a triumph; but to have missed him, or 
only to have wounded him, would have been certain death 
to us, for he would assuredly have turned savagely upon 
us ; and his jaws and paws both denoted his capacity for 
dealing with assailants. The couple, however, soon 
retreated. These baboons, the natives told us, were 
very uncommon, and always to be seen in couples. 
Believing in the doctrine of metempsychosis, according to 
which they invest these simial forms with the spirits of 
departed giants, they seemed to rejoice that we had 
not killed them. In fact, when the animals got away, 
they assured us that we could not kill them, being 
" effreets." 

Of buck and mountain partridge, which latter was 



KEREN. 



very good eating, we had plentiful provision before our 
return home. On the morrow we purposed paying a 
visit to a Catholic priest, in the neighbourhood, of very 
pronounced sporting proclivities, to see if we could not 
get up a leopard hunt. About three miles from Keren, 
in one of the wildest parts of Abyssinia, they are 
numerous ; and, as the Egyptian Arab does not care for 
hunting, both leopards and lions are undisturbed. 

At an early hour next morning we made our way to 
the residence of the priest, whom I found to be assisted 
in his clerical labours by another " father." It was 
conveniently placed, right at the base of a mountain and 
in the centre of the extensive village of Keren ; of which 
the eight hundred huts occupied by Catholic Christians 
form no inconsiderable portion. The habitation may be 
described as a long grass hut, lined within with matting 
and divided into three parts ; two being sleeping apart- 
ments, and the third applied to all the purposes of 
drawing-room, parlour, and library. When Exeter Hall 
(in Macaulay^s famous phrase) " brays," as it annually 
does, about the missionary work it supposes itself to have 
achieved, it takes no account whatever of the silent 
heroism and devoted usefulness of men like these priests, 
who are content — without any flourish of trumpets — to 
fill their obscure stations in the ecclesiastical system. 
Nothing but fervour of soul of the most marked type 
could reconcile men to the patient and cheerful endurance 
of the privations and perils incident to their lot ; which, 
be it remembered, does not reckon loud advertisement 
of its triumphs among its attractions and consolations. 



ig8 ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 

And it speaks volumes for the missionary energy of the 
Church represented by the " fathers " here that it should 
have penetrated to, and (what is more) maintained itself 
in, this advanced outpost of civilisation. 

A stone church was projected for the service of the 
numerous flock, and some progress made in the work ; 
that is to say, the foundation was laid, and the walls 
began to ascend : but the science of the architect, a 
wretched Swiss, was confessedly unequal to the imposition 
of a roof, and there the unfinished edifice stands, a 
strange memorial of human folly and weakness. He was 
an amateur, I presume, who had not exactly measured 
the extent of his powers. The church or chapel, pending 
the arrival of competent aid, continues to be in the long 
shed adjacent to the house. 

The domestic appurtenances embrace an ample en- 
closure fenced in with matting, with gate of the same 
material, which, by reason of the stoutness of the woven 
grass, is found to be very durable. In this enclosure are 
fifty cows, with an adequate supply of goats and sheep 
and plenty of poultry; shewing that, if the wants of the 
fathers were but few and simple, they were liberally 
provided for. The plot of ground at the back is the 
vegetable garden, which has the distinction of having 
grown the first potatoes raised in Abyssinia. 

The place is exalted in local tradition as the final rest- 
ing-place of the black mother of Munzinger Pasha's 
black wife. She was a native Christian, and had large 
possessions in cattle. She also was the mother of a large 
family, Munzinger's sisters-in-law being as thick as 



KEREN. 



199 



blackberries. Somehow it appeared that I was the 
object of no little solicitude as to what is called settle- 
ment in life. I think I have already recorded that the 
Bedouins desired my accession to their ranks ; and now 
it was delicately suggested that I should form an alliance 
with one of these numerous maidens. Her complexion 
was all that could be desired in the way of defying 
freckles and other cutaneous afflictions which British 
wives mitigate with expensive toilet applications. Row- 
land, and Rimmel, and Piesse and Lubin, and the whole 
tribe of perfumers and providers of costly u requisites " 
who make Bond Street so odorous, could have no terrors 
for me. But I could not clearly see my way to the reali- 
sation of all those domestic comforts which I am far from 
saying that she was not eminently qualified to dispense, 
and I was compelled to say that my matrimonial propen- 
sities just then were in abeyance. 

The women here were good-looking, with aquiline 
noses ; and it is well known that, if you see an aquiline- 
nosed African, you see a good-looking person — without 
the serious drawback of thick lips. There must have 
been European settlers here long before our knowledge 
of their presence, for I saw some instances of a half- 
caste race possessing strongly marked European fea- 
tures ; the feet betraying the African part of their origin, 
while the forehead and the face bespoke the European. 
So far as my observation extends, that is the distinction 
to be noted in all half-caste races, as in the case of the 
Hottentots ; on which subject I have expressed my views 
fully in the ' Anthropological Review/ 



20C 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



My kind host, the padre, had been yellowed by the 
climate, which, after a certain number of years in these 
tropical regions, takes possession of the European, and 
invests him with a very pronounced bilious appearance. 
A more serious effect is that it takes all the animation 
out of a man ; it deprives you of hearty energy ; and one 
not able so to account for it might have interpreted the 
languor into want of cordiality in the reception I ob- 
tained. But during my brief sojourn in these parts I 
had come to understand what the climate meant. 

We breakfasted in the verandah, and I must be careful 
to mention that the repast included a delightful salad, 
such as the Frenchman, who has a nationally keen eye to 
the utilisation of the vegetable productions of Nature, so 
well knows how to provide wherever he may be. 

The ascent of the mountain was effected on donkeys, 
and we had not gone far before we started two little red 
antelopes, which came down to the guns of Mr. Voight 
and the priest. Now it was that the excitement of the 
Frenchman broke out. The good man's face beamed 
with satisfaction; the prospect of venison clearly was 
appetising ; and who shall take exception to the perfectly 
rational and legitimate delight ? The bodies were 
quickly taken up by two Abyssinians and conveyed to the 
local Vatican, where I knew we should feast on them on 
our return ; the culinary appliances of the establishment 
certifying the educated palate of its owner. He was 
opposed to wholesale slaughter, holding that it was a 
shame to destroy more than we required, and proposed 
to kill one more buck for presentation to the Pasha. 



KEREN. 



201 



We had by this time got almost into the thick of a forest 
of luxuriant vegetation, enlivened with the chatter of 
beautiful birds, among which were the quaint little 
" sugar birds/' which, I believe, are quite new to Science. 
On a sudden we heard the barking of our native dogs 
(the best native breed I have yet seen in Africa), and 
the vegetable undergrowth was observed to be moving 
rapidly, as if a whirlwind were playing over it. This 
was soon explained by the appearance of two small 
leopards, which sprang out and made for the stump of 
an old tree, on the top of which one seated itself while 
the other crouched by its side. It was a grand sight to 
see them baying the dogs, which did nothing but bark 
and show their teeth, as also did the leopards with every 
sign of savage fury; and it was interrupted by the de- 
spatch of a bullet which crippled the foreleg of one 
animal, and of a second shot which hit the other on its 
side. Their rage knew no bounds. Disabled and mad- 
dened with pain, they lay growling on the earth until 
overcome with exhaustion from loss of blood. We fired 
again, but so as not to injure their fine skins, and, to 
complete the business, two Abyssinians rushed up with 
spears and finally despatched them. I rejoiced in the 
wonderful bit of luck which enabled me to become the 
happy possessor of their hides, and only regretted that 
the sport was of such short duration. The next thing to 
be done was to skin them. This I helped to do myself, 
and by the time it was done our work was over for the 
day. 

As we turned a corner of the mountain pass, we sighted 



502 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



a large troop of (I should say about two hundred) great 
baboons. Their size was no doubt rendered impressive 
by their congregation • but they were not near the size 
of the two gorillas, which I am perfectly convinced were 
a new species of that animal • and it has been a lasting 
source of regret to me that I was unable to secure the 
skeleton of one of them for that distinguished naturalist, 
Mr. Cutter, of Bloomsbury Street, who generally takes 
all my Natural History and Antique collections. 

We reached home just before sundown, partridge and 
guinea-fowl popping up as we went along ; the latter, at 
this season of the year, being in first-rate condition. 
Within half an hour's walk of Keren I have found hun- 
dreds of their eggs, — and very delicious they are ; in fact, 
they are to be found all over the bush in this region. 

We this day witnessed the passage through Keren of 
about fifty boys (of from sixteen to twenty years of age) , 
under the escort of black soldiers and chained in 
couples.* They were from some far distant point in the 
interior, having been forty days on the way, and wore 
most piteous looks ; and it is impossible for any sane man 
to doubt for a moment that they were destined for slaves. 
How often shall it be necessary to repeat, for the infor- 
mation of English philanthropists who have persuaded 
themselves that the Viceroy discountenances Slavery, that 

* The convicts set to hard labour are chained in twos. Fre- 
quently you may see an Arab and an Abyssinian thus coupled, en- 
gaged in conveying stone for buildings. The cultivation of the soil 
by the vast army of the Viceroy is never thought of. It is so much 
easier to plunder the Abyssinian tiibes all round. 



KEREN. 203 

he absolutely derives a large revenue from that hateful 
source ? Let them remember the fact that the Arab 
never works if he has money enough to buy a slave. 
The national character of the Arab favours the indul- 
gence. When he goes out on his donkey, he must have a 
slave to walk by his side and urge the donkey on. He 
must have a slave to prepare his coffee, and a slave to 
wash his feet ; — a slave for every office that can be dis- 
charged by another for one's own convenience. And 
there are other vile purposes which it causes a shudder 
to think of ; and I dismiss this awful subject with the 
remark that I have never yet seen an Arab eunuch. 
Verhum sap. ! 

The verandah in the priest's house was where T lay 
down to rest ; but I was in a mortal funk all night, kept 
awake by the howling of hyaenas, and right glad I was 
when morning broke. 



CHAPTEE XIV. 



RETURN TO MASSOUAH. 

Returning to tlie encampment, I spent a few days 
there, and determined, as soon as I could procure camels 
and mules, to start for the coast. 

I had now been in these regions for over two 
months, during which I made several excursions into 
the interior ; but it was obvious that I was regarded 
as a spy. I could see signs that my inquiring habits 
were not to the taste of those around me ; and I deemed 
it prudent to clear out of the place as privately as I 
could. So I left without making any adieux, saying I 
should be back in a few days, and carefully concealing 
my present route. I had hired as servant an Abyssinian 
of unsurpassed faithfulness, a really fine fellow, called 
Ali, who proved to be so devoted to my interests that I 
greatly regret I could not bring him home with me. 



RETURN TO MASSOUAH. 



205 



My first night was spent at an Arab encampment, the 
chief of which, I can well remember, was (as he seemed 
to me to be) a Turk, — a mean, selfish fellow, who desired 
to possess himself of almost every thing I had. All I 
got in the way of food here was boiled Egyptian beans, 
rendered palatable by the infusion of lime juice ; which 
I can warrant as a good lasting food, as fare that sticks 
to the traveller and makes him feel that he has had a 
sufficing meal. Coffee followed as matter of course. 

Next day I was at an Abyssinian village, where I got 
kind treatment. Sour milk was the beverage, and I in- 
dulged in the luxury of guinea-fowl, which I was particular 
personally to attend to the cooking of. It was some time 
since I had tasted roast, and I resolved that this should 
be a memorable episode in my Abyssinian career ; so, 
having got a clear wood fire, I set the fowl on a handy 
gridiron that fortunately formed part of my limited 
baggage, and contrived to do no little culinary justice 
to this fine-flavoured game. It may seem a small incident 
to the indolent reader, much at his ease in home or 
inn ; but " circumstances alter cases/' as the well- 
known platitude has it ; and at the time I was very far 
from being insensible to the attractions of roast guinea- 
fowl. 

The chief of this village seemed to be well pleased 
upon his interview with me. Personally he did all he 
could to make me comfortable ; and in a long conversa- 
tion, which he held in Abyssinian, interpreted to me by 
Ali who could speak Arabic, he bewailed the hardship of 
the Viceroy's uncontrolled rule over the territory. Soon, 



206 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



said he, all the cattle would be annihilated, and then he 
did not know what would become of them. Repeating 
what is a familiar fact to all observers, he added that it 
was useless to grow corn, for the Egyptian army never 
scrupled to appropriate it ; and, if they ventured to re- 
monstrate, their only reward was the bastinado, followed 
up by the frightful punishment of being tied up by one 
leg, ringed in a wall, and compelled to stand for days in 
that painful position. I have myself inspected the filthy 
jails in which the poor creatures were undergoing that 
ingeniously tormenting penalty. But to what diabolic 
refinements of cruelty is Egyptian despotism not capable 
of resorting ? 

Next night I had to stop out on the open felt. The 
Abyssinians in my company immediately proceeded to 
cut down branches of the acacia thorn, and made a circle 
large enough to take in our mules and camels ; the 
former of which we took the precaution of knee-haltering. 
This was done as a protection against the lions. Ali was 
in a state of great anxiety all the night about them, and 
required all the assurances of the old Abyssinian to 
appease him. In about half an hour we had quite a 
body-guard, from the native huts in the neighbourhood, 
of able-bodied young fellows armed with spears, who 
brought in a large piece of beef with them ; nor were 
these our sole visitors. Several nice-looking girls, — the 
sisters, I believe of the young men who so generously 
came to our protection, — also came in to see u the big 
Englishman 93 whose arrival had been reported at their 
village. They danced up to midnight, and amused me 



RETURN TO MASSOUAH. 



immoderately.* Like all African dancing, theirs required 
to be seen to be appreciated. The whole arrangements 
of this garden-party really were very pleasant. I am 
not ashamed to own that I like barbarians. I always did, 
and always shall. Their kindness is so purely genuine, 
without the taint of selfishness about it. 

Shortly after retiring to rest our peaceful community 
was startled out of its propriety by the terrific roar of 
a lion, which affected me as though a stone had been 
hurled at my backbone. It was plain he had smelt us 
out, and his nearness to us tried the fortitude of all. It 
was a grand moonlight night, as bright as ever gladdened 
either traveller's or lover's heart ; and we could see the 
brute stalking wildly without the thorn-bush enclosure, 
which was all that separated us from him. It was a 
moment of supreme danger, in which memories of home 
and its tender associations flashed through the mind. 
But the danger had to be faced. All around me were 
in an agony of terror, the women crouching with their 
faces on the ground. I hesitated to fire. I knew not 
what might result from the operation. I positively had 
only three rounds of ball cartridge, which I feared parting 
with ; and — horrible to relate ! — when I examined the 
rifles and knapsacks of the two guides, I found they had 
bartered away the ammunition that had been given them 
at the Soudan camp ! This discovery increased my per- 

* The only covering they had on was a little cloth round the 
waist. There are but few women here ; they have been drained off 
to fill Egyptian establishments. Taxes and harems together make 
the life of the people unspeakably lively. 



208 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



plexity ; it almost paralysed me. The brute meanwhile 
continued to roar, the roars being like claps of thunder. 
(It was curious to see — I can picture it as I write — bis 
shadow projected before us.) Suddenly we beard tbe 
roar of another, which, when she came up, proved to be 
the lioness. I immediately felt relieved, knowing that, 
as with dogs, ferocity would yield to gallantry. It was 
as I anticipated. They indulged in mutual lickings, 
and kept pacing about; and it was not until near 
daylight that we were quit of our unpleasant visitors. 

Proportionate to their prostration was the exultation 
of the Abyssinians at their release from the serious 
danger by which we had been so recently threatened. 
A vast jabbering ensued. They seemed to be full of the 
menacing event, and somehow connected me with their 
escape. Indeed, in such parts of the uncivilised world as 
I have travelled over, my experience has been that the 
natives think they are as safe under the protection 
of an Englishman as if they were in the keeping of their 
own effreets. 

Our course in the morning was through richly diver- 
sified country, but bare of all signs of cultivation except 
a few straggling patches of Indian corn ; and the head- 
men of the villages were in charge of large herds of cattle, 
representing their worldly all. From afar I observed that 
we were approaching what I at first took to be European 
tents. These on closer view resolved themselves into 
the tombs in the burial-ground of a powerful Abyssinian 
tribe. These tombs, which are built perfectly round and 
are from four to five feet high, are some of them pro- 



RETURN TO MASSOUAH. 



209 



fusely ornamented, and mark the spots beside some 
favourite trees where in life the departed loved to medi- 
tate, the elevation of the place favouring the command of 
view of their cattle feeding in the distance. In every 
village there always is one large tree to which the simple 
inhabitants repair for prolonged conversation, at the con- 
clusion of which, like all Africans, they jump up simul- 
taneously and separate to their various homes. 

Learning that the women, who had risen early in the 
morning for the purpose, were busy making Abyssinian 
beer, I tried hard to get acquainted with the process, but 
did not succeed. They guarded the receipt for its 
manufacture with jealous secrecy, and could not be 
tempted by me to its disclosure : but I was accommodated 
with a draught of it, which, though refreshing, was by no 
means agreeable ; not near so good as the Kafir jalar. 

Up to the confines of the desert, the scenery continued 
to be attractive, and the soil deep alluvium, capable of 
growing anything, but which, under the existing order of 
things, serves no purpose of utility. All is a barren 
waste. When I saw my Abyssinians engaged in filling 
their water-skins and loading our three camels with 
the supplies, it was easy to gather that we were on the 
eve of a long desert passage; and, when we crossed 
another ridge of mountains, we were at the Desert, which 
it would take six days' fair travelling by night (we could 
not venture to go on by clay) to cross. Bustard and 
plover here were in great abundance, these two species of 
bird consorting apparently in the same region. I have a 
strong suspicion that in Africa the bustard is nearly 



210 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



connected with, the plover, its habits being somewhat 
similar, according to my observation of foreign Natural 
History, though one is a huge monster beside the other. 
We rested beneath a tree the ample extent of whose 
branches gave promise of grateful shade ; but we were 
not long in discovering that it was a sensitive acacia 
which yielded to the increasing heat • which nearly drove 
our mules to break their halters for the relief of change 
of position. In a few minutes they were attacked on the 
legs by bug-shaped insects, which caused the blood to 
stream. I administered carbolic acid, which was a de- 
cided check, although it did not stop the effusion 
entirelv. The strange thing was that the camels were 
not similarly invaded. As evening came on, we could 
not sit still for the irritation of their biting. They were 
of various sizes, some as large again as the London ( bug 
or the sheep tick, others as minute as fleas. When they 
had taken their fill they burst, their gluttony, like that of 
the tick family, being the means of their destruction. 
Their existence finishes even as does that of moths ; they 
leave the world after making a deposit of eggs in the 
erupted blood ; which accounts for their propagation, the 
blood drying around the deposit being its nutriment; 
and in twenty-four hours they start into life. Tick life 
here, as in South and Central Africa, to which I have 
already devoted attention, is very curious. 

Starting at sundown, we went in immediate quest of a 
well dug by the natives which an Abyssinian had informed 
us would be found three hours hence, the heat of the day 
having caused large demands to be made upon our supply 



RETURN TO MASSOUAH. 



211 



of water ; of which, we should not see any more for three 
days. We reached it at 10 o'clock, and our camels ex- 
hibited some impatience to be served. Though it was 
thick and muddy, we were only too glad to fill our empty 
water-skins, and our animals were indulged with the 
thick moisture to repletion. A bright moon shone on 
our way, but it was only to enable us to realise more 
vividly the far-reaching desolation of sand. As morning 
broke, we saw in the distance a wandering tribe, half 
Arab, half Abyssinian, which we identified as being 
Mahommedan by observing one of the number with a red 
turban, indicating that he had been once to Mecca. They 
were about finishing the milking of their goats ; and, in 
the utter absence of a vestige of vegetation, it seemed 
curious there should be any milk. They had just buried 
a member of the tribe ; and upon the conclusion of the 
ceremony they put their hands together and ejaculated 
" It is finished." All Mahommedans of this part of the 
East, at sunrise of the day after Eamadan, proceed to 
the grave-yard with sweet cakes and coffee, which they 
consume on the spot, leaving the crumbs and surplus 
for the birds, whose convenience is further consulted 
by filling a little stone trough with water. 

The mirage was very strong here, and, had we followed 
its deceptive invitation, we should have travelled miles 
out of our proper course and incurred the risk of perishing 
from thirst ; but I worked with compass, and after four 
days of the same sort of country we were glad to sight 
Massouah. My feet had suffered greatly, and generally 

p2 



212 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



I had been so altered for the worse that I was not 
recognised by the local Greek traders. 

Eeturning to my old quarters at Massouah which re- 
minded me of prison discipline, I found my old friends, 
the rats, as lively as ever. I was not, however, prepared 
for a most startling sensation which I experienced just 
before sundown. As I reclined on my bullock's hide 
couch, the roof of my room seemed to tremble with (as it 
were) a fearful rush of wind upon a sudden, and the 
strange agitation communicated to me a giddying sensa- 
tion. On looking up to ascertain the cause, I found that 
it was the action of thousands of tiny bats simultaneously 
taking their flight from their day-retreat upon their night 
excursions ; and their return in the morning was sig- 
nalised by the same tempestuous rush. When settling 
down to roost for the day, their notes are curious 
twitters, which affect one, exposed as I was to so large 
a colony, twingingly. Occasionally you may see a white 
one in their company, but fawn-coloured ones are plen- 
tiful. 

Complying with the requirements of the place, I called 
upon the khimekar of the town, who did not seem in- 
clined, as I fancied, to be over-civil ; but the only way to 
teach an Arab civility is to affect not to attend to him in 
the least when he addresses you, and to address yourself 
to some one else. 

A fine opportunity came in my way here to study the 
opposite characters of the Banyan and the Arab. I was 
present at a commercial contest (I can call it by no other 
name) between two traders of these two nationalities 



RETURN TO MASSOUAH. 



213 



over a parcel of cotton goods ; and it added to my list of 
singular spectacles. At first the Arab adopted a most 
coaxing style; his introductory flourishes were of the 
smoothest and politest sort. Finding that the Banyan 
betrayed no accessibility to flattery, he next took a 
medium course, in which a half-bullying tone was im- 
ported into the transaction. This also proving in- 
effectual, he became most violent, raising his voice to a 
frightful pitch and gesticulating wildly, so much so, 
indeed, that I made up my mind he was going to hit 
him. There was no little oddity, I thought, in being 
thus assailed over what was a purely trading transaction. 
But it was a treat to observe the demeanour of the 
Banyan. No contrast of temper could have been com- 
pleter. He did not allow himself to be visibly disturbed 
in the slightest degree. Cool and collected, he suffered 
his antagonist to expend his wrathful energy upon him 
without remonstrance, until he recovered his proper 
frame of mind ; when the Banyan obtained the prices he 
originally asked for his goods. 

The Banyans, who, as I have before remarked, have 
established themselves here in positions of great mer- 
cantile importance, are a stately race whose majestic gait 
proclaims the assertion of their superiority over their 
competitors ; and the Arabs are intelligent enough to be 
impressed by their passionless strength of character. I 
believe I may safely say that they have never allowed them- 
selves to be seen at their meals. At one time they used 
at night to hold noisy meetings on their housetops, when 
tom-toms were beaten to the disturbance of the whole 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



neighbourhood ; but the practice has been suppressed, 
and the Banyans now set an admirable example of civic 
propriety in every way. 

One day I was looking out of my shuttered window 
when half-a-dozen eunuchs rushed into my room and, 
laying violent hands upon me, threw me on to my bed. 
I was puzzled to understand the sudden inroad, and cer- 
tainly should not have been able to divine the reason for 
it, unless I had been informed, as by them I was, that I 
had no business to be gazing at the " sitts 93 in the harem 
which, it seemed, was located just in front of me. It 
was represented that the (ugly) ladies were very indig- 
nant, though, as I afterwards learned, one of them — a very 
pretty creature — had expressed her admiration of me ; 
which circumstance naturally roused the ire of her owner, 
who insisted upon my not violating the privacy of the re- 
treat. It was useless to explain that, as a cat might look 
at a king or queen, it was competent for me to look out 
of my own window. I took the shorter method of dis- 
engaging myself from their grasp and levelling two of 
them with well-planted blows, at the same time pointing 
to the French steamer in the harbour, and inquiring 
Parlez-voas Frangais ? by way of making them take me 
for a Frenchman. With their usual cowardice they beat 
a hasty retreat. Eunuchs will jabber at you for the hour, 
but of pluck they are notoriously empty. 

This harem was guarded by eight eunuchs and two 
Arabs ; yet the occupants found means to defeat their 
vigilance. The heat of the weather not favouring ex- 
cessive clothing, I used to lie in bed inpwis naturalibus, 



RETURN TO MASSOUAH. 215 

to the scandal (I fear) of sundry Arabs whom my cook — 
a mealy-mouthed fellow was he ! — delighted to bring, to 
peep at me through the wide crevice of the door. It 
happened on one occasion that I indulged in a little 
gymnastic exercise on the beam of the building, and at 
its termination I went to the door to admit fresh air, 
when I surprised three of these ladies, who had been 
contemplating my noble proportions and agility. The 
discovery was surprising to all concerned. I fear I had 
no time to blush myself, and their veils prevented my 
judging whether they did; but most precipitate was their 
retreat. Their daring imprudence involved them, I 
apprehend, in trouble ; as later in the day, when I 
suppose the escapade was reported to the Bey, I heard 
piercing shrieks proceeding from their domicile. Evi- 
dently they were paying the penalty of their transgres- 
sion. And I need not add that the vivaciously indiscreet 
damsels never again enjoyed the privilege of witnessing 
my gymnastic exhibitions. I wonder if they have marked 
the day with chalk or with charcoal ? Perhaps with 
both; the chalk to represent the joyous break in the dull 
uniformity of life, and the darker material to commemorate 
the thrashing they got. 



CHAPTEE XV. 



TEL BASTA.— ZAGAZIG.— TANTA.— ZANKALOON — 
CAIRO. 



The arrival of the Khedive's steamer "Zaggaza," by 
which I proposed to leave Massouah, was a great relief to 
me. At this season of the year, Massouah is, I verily 
believe, the hottest place in the world. It is without a 
single tree, for even the acacia does not thrive here. I 
was glad indeed to step on board, and to find her, after 
she had delivered the mails to the Egyptian authorities, 
turn her head round, with me for passenger, bound on a 
three weeks' voyage in the Eed Sea. The passage had few 
attractions, and unhappily I was deprived of the society 
of my friend Maccordock, the steamer's engineer, whose 
time was occupied in attending to the defective ma- 
chinery, and who was the only Briton on board. Most 
melancholy was the mode of life of the captain and 



THE "ZAGGAZA? 



217 



officers of the Egyptian vessel. Betimes in the morning 
they began to pray, after which they had a small cup of 
coffee with a portion of Arab bread, dulcified perhaps 
with a taste of honey ; and all day long they made the 
sailors pour water on their hands and feet, and reclined 
on carpets, — leading lives of unmitigated laziness. They 
positively seemed to dispense with food. For all their 
laziness, they can be savages when they like. While at 
Massouah, I saw the captain of on,e of the same line of 
steamers, who had, about four years ago, caused to be 
beaten with the kholbash almost to death his own English 
engineer, for which offence he was amerced in the sum of 
three thousand pounds. He was one of the most over- 
bearing, self-sufficient, and impertinent scoundrels that 
ever lived ; and his treatment of me was embittered by 
the recollection of that fact. It is but fair to the reputa- 
tion of that magnificent Englishman, M'Killop Pasha, to 
mention that there would have been default of justice in 
this case, if he had not personally exerted himself to 
secure it for his outraged countryman by adequate repre- 
sentations to the Viceroy. 

Most people would be driven to distraction by a voyage 
of three weeks with Mahommedan sailors. To me, how- 
ever, who had recently gone through so much solitary 
travel, which is admirably qualified to bring out one's 
mental resources, even this was as a relief. They all 
strongly detest Christians, as much from ignorant fanati- 
cism as from the necessity of exertion imposed on them 
by civilisation, which will have progress ; for, if it were 
not for the active competition of trade, these t€ fellahs ,J 



2l8 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



would pass their lives idly basking in the sun. But now 
they are forced to labour, and therefore acknowledge 
small obligations to their Christian rivals. I received a 
hearty welcome on my arrival at Suez from Mr. 
M'Cuilough, and Mr. Henry Williams, chief engineer 
to the Viceroy's Navy; and glad I was, escaping from 
the dark range of Mahommedan intrigue and violence, to 
get back to Suez and shake the hands of my attached 
friends. 

After a much needed rest of a few days, I made up my 
mind to cross the Desert and visit the land of Goshen. 
My passion for moving on could not suffer me to continue 
long in retirement. It took three days with camels to 
reach Ismaiha ; whence I had rail to Zagazig. Availing 
myself of the hospitality of Mr. Clarke, in charge of the 
Telegraph department, I spent a couple of days here, 
during which I made the purchases required for my trip 
down the Xile. During my short stay I had the oppor- 
tunity of witnessing some of the fanatical religious ob- 
servances of the place, which their love of effect generally 
causes them to enact at night ; when, with long proces- 
sions of lamps, they go through the streets chanting 
their prayers. It is observable that men of about 
four-and-twenty are the prominent agents in these 
scenes of enthusiastic disorder. They seem as they 
grow older to become superior to this form of spirit- 
ual excitement. The hubbub continues through the 
night. 

The Bazaar is a poor affair ; and, but for the Greeks, 
whose mercantile activity is of the highest service to 



ZAGAZIG. 



219 



Egypt, store supplies would almost be impossible of 
attainment ; and this singularity is explained by the fact 
that Arab stores would only be preys to any Pasha or Bey 
in power. 

There is a fresh-water canal conducted hither from one 
of the arms of the Nile ; and the grain market is very 
extensive. Vast quantities of corn are sold here, seas of 
corn (to use Captain Burton's expressive phrase) being 
cultivated in the land of Goshen. Some little way out of 
Zagazig, the endless plains of Indian corn, wheat and 
cotton strike the observer as being beyond anything to 
be seen elsewhere in one district. Zagazig indeed is the 
Manchester of Egypt, with its extensive cotton-cleaning 
factories, in which the labour is by Arabs, boys and girls 
of all ages and sizes ; the wages trifling, and, in the case 
of Bey or Pasha owner, intensely fractional, — next to 
nil. As for the due observance of time and attention to 
work, the bastinado is a lively teacher. 

To Mr. Vetter, a German gentleman of great force of 
character who resides here, as well as to Mr. Hodgson, 
my sincerest acknowledgments are due for their unre- 
mitting kindness to me when I lay prostrate here from 
the effects of a severe beating inflicted upon me ; which 
will presently form the subject of comment. And that 
reminds me of a visit with which I was favoured by a 
Mr. Dale, who had just returned from a fruitless trip to 
England, whither he went personally to complain to the 
officials of the Foreign Office of the impunitj 7 - of sundry 
Arabs who had grossly maltreated and mutilated his 
brother. The only satisfaction he obtained was the 



220 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



assurance, in the blandest of official tones, that tut? 
Foreign Office had never before heard any complaints 
against General Stanton and his Consular staff. The 
logic of that statement hardly impresses the no?i-official 
mind. The Foreign Office obviously does not recognise 
the possibility of any of its representatives ever doing 
wrong. Humanum est errare (Burns' " To step aside is 
human ") is not a text honoured by adoption within its 
august portals ; and it must be vastly comforting to its 
subordinates to think that they are not subject to the 
operation of those vulgar suspicions of peccability to 
which the mass of mankind are prone. In relation to 
this case, I am only recording a matter of notoriety 
when I say that the expedient by which justice was de- 
feated was the simple one of making it appear that the 
one Arab who was caught was a Persian; and the 
Egyptian Government therefore, it was alleged, could 
render no redress. 

When I state that Consuls of any nationality cannot 
be pressed for debt in the East, I give the reader a faint 
idea of the personal privileges they enjoy. What is more 
serious,, however, is the facility thus given to the introduc- 
tion of influences adverse to the maintenance of inde- 
pendence. The Foreign Office may be disposed, in its 
lofty way of looking at things, to scout the possibility 
of pecuniary complications jeopardising the security of 
these institutions. But, for the sake of argument, 
suppose the case of a Consul who is an inveterate 
gambler and horse-racer, and who in these pursuits 
nvolves himself in heavy liabilities with the Egyptian 



TEL LASTA. 



221 



population ; I say, suppose such a case ; and what is the 
exact value of the Consular office ? 

The ruins of Tel Basta are very inter e sting, and here 
I made a valuable collection of bronzes. I dug up three, 
myself, of Isis with the infant Orus in her arms ; I also 
secured some cat-headed deities in excellent preservation, 
together with scarab aai and ancient pottery; several of 
which are to be seen in the British Museum. It is a well- 
watered country, and the Arabs would soon acquire not 
only wealth but settled habits of thrift and industry, if it 
were not for the oppressiveness of the taxation, with which 
no degree of prosperity can possibly keep pace ; the very 
means of their livelihood being forcibly taken from the 
unfortunate people — their one cow and one buffalo, with 
which they plough the land and turn the water-mill, 
carried off and detained till payment is anyhow made. 

The town of Zagazig itself I should not pronounce to 
be healthy ; the number of funerals I saw in it was 
oppressively great. The burial-ground is a mile out, and 
I need not say that of all melancholy funerals nothing 
surpasses the gloom of those of the Mahommedans. The 
virtues of the deceased, as the procession advances, are 
intoned by the men and chorussed by the women, in 
tones so afflictingly dolorous that one feels quite dispirited 
by passing one of these corteges. The number of flags 
used on these occasions varies with the social position and 
the rank of the deceased. They are carried by men on 
lofty poles, and have indescribable symbols of all sorts 
worked on them; and the green flag, typifying the 



222 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



Prophet, marks the funeral of the male. That of the 
female passes off without any such distinction. Her body- 
is quietly followed to the grave by women ; without 
either chants or flags. Having no souls, it is not con- 
sidered necessary to invoke the effreets for their safe 
conduct to Paradise. In the instance of an eldest son 
being buried, a bunch of flowers is placed at the head of 
the bier, and loud lamentation is made and the drum 
beaten, for youth is before age in the homage paid to it. 
But I had enough, and more than enough, of funerals in 
the town of Zagazig while I lay ill there for three months. 

It does not become me, anticipating the chronological 
order of events, to narrate here the particulars of the 
barbarous treatment to which I was subjected at the 
hands of Osman Abaza, the sheikh of Sherweda ; but I 
may just illustrate the direct result of the farce of justice 
enacted by the authorities on that* occasion, when six out 
of six hundred of the cowardly assailants of Mr. Clarke 
and myself had various wonderful measures of punish- 
ment meted out to thein.* Barbarians especially are 
emboldened by impunity, and that example sufficed to 
account for a most cold-blooded murder committed soon 
after. It was that of a young Copt who was going to the 
railway station with seventy napoleons entrusted to him 
by his Greek employer for despatch to Alexandria, and it 
was perpetrated in the middle of the day. The victim 
and his murderer lodged together, in the same house; but 

* Seven murders were committed here within a month after the 

attack upon us. 



ZAGAZIG. 



22 3 



that did not restrain the young Effendi, impelled by 
avarice and the love of dress, from destroying his amiable 
companion. He induced him to enter an Arab water- 
closet, in which was suspended a goat-skin for carrying 
water, the murderer knowing that the suspicion of the 
foul deed would surely fall on the innocent owner of the 
water-skin. He had previously secured a large stone, 
with one blow of which he smashed the lad's skull ; and, 
after possessing himself of the coveted money, he lifted 
his lifeless form and thrust it down the cavity of the 
closet. In the course of time the poor water-carrier 
arrived for his water-skin. He observed a large crowd of 
flies, which come together as soon as ever blood appears, 
and, directed by them, he looked down the cavity and saw 
the body. Knowing the severity with which the law of 
Egypt connects murder with the accident of neighbour- 
hood to it * his fright may be imagined. He came out in 
a frantic state, and reported what he had seen. He was 
forthwith seized by the khavasses, thrown down, and 
beaten with two hundred blows, administered for the 
purpose of extorting confession of the crime \ of which, 
however, though nearly killed himself, he stoutly asserted 
his ignorance and innocence. While this exemplary mode 
of discovering the murder was being enforced, it happened 
that an Italian, going into a shoemaker's store at Zagazig, 
saw the Effendi, the real murderer, buying boots. The 
Italian in Arabic inquired if he had heard of the dreadful 

* Thus, if a dead body be found on a man's ground, he is held 
responsible for the murder. 



224 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



murder of the poor boy, his friend. He betrayed no ex- 
citement, and expressed no surprise. This unnatural 
behaviour had the effect of arousing suspicion in the 
mind of the Italian, who communicated the circumstance 
to a very intelligent agent of the Bey. The agent agreed 
in his view of the case ; he divined at once that this was 
the murderer ; and accordingly he sent word by a 
khavass that he wished to see him and smoke a pipe 
with him. When he presented himself at the agent's, he 
was arrayed in clothes purchased by the produce of the 
murder. Being in the same sphere of life, he was 
received with all civility, and, as a special mark of favour, 
a cigarette, prepared by the agent himself, was handed to 
him. This nattered the vanity of the young villain, and 
conducted him easily into the snare. These social pre- 
liminaries thus agreeably arranged, the agent in his 
blandest way submitted the proposal — " If you will give 
me twenty napoleons, you may keep the other fifty your- 
self!" The omniscient and easy air of the veteran 
detective threw him completely off his guard ; and he 
said falteringly — " I cannot give you so much, but you 
may have ten/' Pressed to explain why the larger sum 
could not be had, he said he owed twenty for clothes and 
other articles. "Well/' was the searching comment, 
" that leaves twenty to be accounted for still." He then 
admitted he had secreted twenty in the pocket of his old 
trousers. They were exactly what the agent wanted to 
complete the chain of evidence. He agreed that, if he 
found only twenty napoleons so secreted, he would be 
satisfied with ten for his share. They proceeded to the 



ZAGAZIG. 



225 



residence of his mother, who was engaged, at the par- 
ticular desire of her son whose appetite did not seem to 
be disturbed by the murder, in the preparation of a sub- 
stantial meal ; and, when the trousers were taken out of 
the box, they were stained with blood. When the hope 
was expressed that he put his wretched victim quickly 
out of his misery, he replied that it was the work of an 
instant, and that he executed it somewhat differently from 
the mode adopted by Osman Abaza towards the two 
Englishmen whose lives had recently been attempted. 

The agent now inquired if the Effendi did not think 
this a very bad job. The answer was " No." He had 
been told that in the time of Abbas Pasha any one killing 
another would have been taken up a ladder and dropt 
down on to three spears ; but now it was as nothing. He 
was bastinadoed, of course; his arms and feet being* 
built into Nile mud, as if in the stocks.* Next morning 
sentence of death was passed upon him, twenty-four 
hours only intervening between the murder and the sen- 
tence, which had to be confirmed at Cairo. Within four 
days he was executed ; on which occasion the women of 
Zagazig, blackening their faces and arms, paraded the 
streets in great indignation. 

When the culprit was brought out of the mooderiah by 
the khavasses, he was thrust into a chair, his fez ignomi- 
niously pulled off his head, and his face violently slapped; 
after which he had to walk a considerable distance with 

* This treatment induces great physical prostration. The culprit 
has one hand released for a quarter of an hour twice a day, to enable 
lihn to take his scanty fare. 

Q 



226 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



a great rope round his neck. Arrived at the place of 
execution, the face-slapping was resumed. Soft-faced 
Europeans would have been almost killed by this slapping; 
but the Arab's facial toughness did not succumb to the 
assaults. Then might have been seen an official rushing 
on to the scene with a large document, which was the 
sentence of death, to be duly read to the prisoner. And 
now the work of execution did not occupy long. Thirty 
Arabs were impressed, who seizing the rope, which had 
been thrown over a beam outside the corner of a house 
in the street, proceeded with it to haul the body up. At 
every pull the body was jerked upwards, like a sack, the 
father and mother of the murdered youth cursing him at 
each jerk. It takes about twenty minutes to despatch in 
this way. Even as the body was ascending, a tremendous 
blow was delivered (not with the design of putting him 
out of his misery, but from sheer ferocity of cruelty), and 
his boots, looking too valuable to be wasted, were (during 
the up-hauling) pulled off by one of the numerous 
khavasses. There the body was suspended for two days, 
filling the neighbourhood with flies. Executions after this 
fashion take place so frequently that Europeans have been 
obliged to complain to the authorities at Cairo, to get the 
bodies taken down ; else they would have continued to 
hang until putrefaction. The bridge of Zagazig is a 
favourite spot for these operations \ and, when the bodies 
are cut down, they drop into the river and float thereon, 
poisoning the water the people drink. 

Tanta, at a short distance from Zagazig, is the Assize 



TANTA. 



227 



or Appeal town of this part of Egypt ; and a pilgrimage 
to it, though not of the same virtue as one to Mecca, yet 
is esteemed highly; large numbers of Algerians especially, 
unable to bear the expense of the trip to Mecca, are con- 
tent to stop at Tanta. Here annually is held the largest 
fair in all the East, and only Jedda or Mecca can surpass 
the fanaticism of the rites and practices thereat ; and it 
will be easily understood that at these times Europeans 
incur great danger. The favorite mode of execution here 
is by strangulation, as it is practised in some parts of 
Turkey ; the noose into which the prisoner's head is 
thrust being tightened by cords wound round four 
upright pieces of wood, like wickets, fixed at right 
angles and twisted to the required constriction. 

The reference to Turkey reminds me that, in remote 
parts of it, a man is sometimes strangled at his own door- 
way amid the frantic lamentations of wife and children, 
the crime for which he suffers perhaps being selling by 
false weights. I remember a baker was once so executed 
for it, and his crime written over his threshold as a warn- 
ing to others ; — a summary mode of procedure : but, if 
justice does not take these violent courses in the East, it 
is neglected altogether. 

Not far from Tanta occurred the notorious railway 
" accident 33 on the Nile, which really was a conspiracy to 
rid the State of a number of Pashas whose increase of 
power had rendered them objectionable. The Nile on 
that occasion was at its highest, and at a point judiciously 
selected in crossing the bridge the train, ingeniously dis- 
connected from the engine, was overturned; when the 

Q2 



228 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



predestined victims were drowned, all save one, who, 
being a good swimmer (lie was educated at Malta), dis- 
engaged liimself from the carriage in which, he was locked 
in with others and, diving, saved his life. Of course the 
Italian engineers, who did not sacrifice themselves, were 
officially blamed, and left Egypt for a year or two ; but, 
when the affair blew over, they quietly returned and were 
received with honour, 

I must devote a small space to the birds of Zagazig. 

Nearly all the birds in the land of Goshen are migra- 
tory. Several tribes of falcons and hawks have been 
familiarised to the world by the British Museum, the 
authorities of which did me the honour of purchasing 
some of my acquisitions. Of king-fishers there are 
varieties, — the African as well as the blue European, 
and the black and white species, the same as I found 
on the Kuanza Eiver in Angola, Central Africa. I need 
hardly mention the extreme perseverance of these birds ; 
who seem to settle, in companies of four or five, on their 
own fishing-grounds, where they become so fat as to 
facilitate capture. Of the black and white species I got 
twenty-four. Snipe are most abundant ; I never saw 
such vast multitudes of them before ; and I have known 
my friend Mr. Clarke go out of a morning and bring* 
home as many as 150. They are of exquisite flavour, 
and are most prized immediately after their arrival, it 
is supposed, from some part of Northern Africa. Quail 
also are very good here as well as plentiful ; and I have 
seen 300 hanging up in my friend's house at one time. 
In fact, for two months in the year, i. e. January and 



ZAGAZIG. 



229 



February, Zagazig is the place for the epicure to live in ; 
and if lie be not a sportsman, bis table, I undertake to 
say, would be laden with all the delicacies of the season, 
if lie lived anywhere in the neighbourhood of my 
generous countryman. Duck, widgeon and woodcock 
add their attractions. The spoon-bill duck is very appe- 
tising here ; its flavour is very fine, and it thrives on 
lakes of from forty to fifty acres in width. The goose 
too is memorably delicious about three weeks after he 
has transported himself to these regions. He grazes 
on the tender beans, of which I have seen a whole field 
completely chopped off by thousands of the birds in 
a night, to the extreme disquiet of its Arab pro- 
prietor. Upon their first arrival, I have picked them 
up skeletons, evidently from the immense length of their 
flight from cold quarters ; it was like handling bunches 
of feathers ; but they soon become as fat as lumps of 
butter. 

Comparisons, as Mrs. Malaprop beautifully observes, 
are " odorous/' and where so many names occur to me, 
as I write, as those of keen sportsmen in Egypt, the 
credit of being the best shot is not easy to be adjudged 
to one individual ; yet I have no hesitation in assigning 
that distinction to Mr. Clarke. Without question I hold 
him to be the best shot in Egypt. Mr. Vetter also, the 
cotton merchant, deserves commemoration as a zealous 
and energetic gunner ; nor must I forget to mention 
Mr. Allen, whom I once saw bring down a brace of 
duck 'in surprising style. To him I am indebted for 
many a Natural History specimen brought to me as I 



230 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



lay on my bed of illness. Mr. Day, of Alexandria, too, lias 
the reputation of being an ardent sportsman. I should 
have done myself the pleasure of calling upon him ; but 
his intimacv with Mr. Vivian, who never came to see me 
in my dying condition while he was in Zagazig, deter- 
mined me to forego the gratification. His hospitality 
is the theme of local praise, his expenditure being upon 
a grand scale. I must record a small anecdote of him 
which interested me much at the time it was told to me, 
and made me wish I had known him. He telegraphed 
from Zagazig to his nigger cook at Alexandria, to pro- 
vide a dinner for eight. The instruction, brief as it 
was, no doubt to him unfolded itself into proper pro- 
portions regarding the entertainment : but the supple- 
mental direction was — cc If a hare is to be got in Alexan- 
dria, buy it if it costs a guinea." All the merchants in 
Alexandria, however, are a generous class ; and I really 
ought not to make an exception in favour of any one 
member. To Mr. Finnimore belongs the credit of being 
the best shot in the English Eifle Club in the same place. 
I am far from disputing his qualifications ; yet practical 
results are what an Englishman falls back upon, ajid I 
know what I owe to friend Clarke in the way of food 
supplies obtained by his gun. I trust I shall be excused 
for the materiality of my views in this matter. At that 
time, confined to my bed as I was, my ideas all tended 
towards pot-luck. I used to look forward to my meals 
as the only forms of amusement open to me in the long, 
dreary days of my Egyptian Desert home. 

I regret that I was unable, in consequence of my bad 



ZAGAZIG. 



2 3 l 



arm, to skin perfectly two very curious water-hens 
shot by Mr. Clarke,, which thus have been lost to 
Science. 

A small excursion one evening out of Zagazig, in the 
company of Mr. Clarke, who was laudably intent upon 
the slaughter of wild duck, is stamped upon my mind 
by the circumstance that, as we went through an orange 
orchard, I plucked and ate one of the fruit, which hap- 
pened to be of the bitter variety. This made me ready 
to eat the donkey I rode ; without the aid of violent 
metaphor, it rendered me so intensely hungry that, 
longingly anticipating supper-time, I could be persuaded 
to take interest in nothing but the success of the sports- 
man; and, when supper-time did come round (I know 
it was advanced for my especial behoof), it certainly did 
not find me indisposed to address myself to the tempting 
entertainment, to which Arab bread and olives imparted 
additional zest. 

I inspected several of the cotton-factories, of which 
one of large extent is the property of a local Bey, 
whose servant Felice is. He is the only Egyptian cot- 
ton factor of any importance, and is indebted for his 
success to the genius of Mr. Hodgson, the chief engineer 
of his works, and of Mr. Johnson, at whose suggestion 
he erected oil-crushing machinery, enabling him to make 
cotton-cake from the seed cleaned out of the cotton. 
This cake is utilised as fuel for the steam-furnaces ; and, 
as there is no wood to be had to keep the fires alive, 
and as coal would be immensely expensive, the value of 
this substitute will be easily understood. The cotton- 



232 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



cake, I learned, can be made at the cost of thirty shillings 
per ton, which is cheap fuel. 

Daring my stay here a cotton factory exploded. It 
was the work, no doubt, of some jealous Arabs ramming 
dirt and stones into the tubes ; for it is not to be disputed 
that, although these unbelieving wretches owe every- 
thing they know to us, they are utterly unmindful of 
their obligations to Englishmen. I will go further and 
say that, although they cannot do without us, yet, at 
heart, they hate us with an intense hatred. This is not 
a superficial impression. On the contrary, it is the 
conviction forced upon my mind by close observation of 
the national character, and the longer I was in Egypt 
the greater was its confirmation. How they will ulti- 
mately take to the Germans, will be determined by 
time. As yet their knowledge of them is not suffi- 
ciently advanced; but the overthrow by Germany of 
what they considered an invincible power has paved 
the way for respectful consideration, while it is in- 
structive to find that French physicians and surgeons 
were summarily dismissed from their posts in hospitals, 
where their skill had acquired great popularity, in 
Constantinople and elsewhere, after the triumph of 
Fatherland. 

I have heard talk of the liberality and generosity of 
the Viceroy to us. Perhaps I may be allowed to ask 
to what source he is indebted for the very means of his 
existence ? But for English brains and English energy 
what would be his condition ? England here has been 
schoolmaster to the worst lot of pupils in the world. No 



ZANKALOON. 



233 



terms can be too strong to denote their wretched 
character ; which is summed up in one word — cunning. 
After all the discipline and instruction, however, their 
knowledge is but shallow • and to this day they would 
break down utterly without European help. That the 
Viceroy would gladly get rid of every Englishman in his 
service, I am perfectly assured ; only he well knows that 
the whole State machinery would, in that event, come to 
a dead-lock • the entire system would collapse. Yet even 
he affects to believe in his own self-helpful resources; 
and I cannot help thinking that the infatuation is en- 
couraged by worthless flatterers, who, to serve their own 
ends, minister to the spiritual intoxication of a despot. 
He is very boastful and very arrogant about his Army 
and his Navy : but what would the former be without 
the American General Stone ; and what would the latter 
be without M'Killop Pasha for Admiral ? Before these 
gentlemen presided at the head of affairs, there was 
nothing in the sha^e of organisation in either of the 
services ; which had been constructed, it would seem, 
upon the model of the famous Coggeshall militia, in 
which all were commissioned officers, except one, and he 
was a lance-corporal. 

The Pigeon Village adjoining the residence of the 
Pasha in Zankaloon, seven miles from Zagazig, I must 
not forget to mention. It is the veritable abode of 
columbar love, built of Nile mud in the shape of minarets, 
and extending over a vast area ; and, if I may venture to 
intrude upon the attention of Mr. Charles Darwin who has 
honoured me by quoting my travels in South Eastern 



234 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



Africa, I can assure him that I inspected this retreat with 
very great interest. 

For about three weeks in the year there is a season 
when the pigeons of Egypt are almost extinct, with the 
exception of those maintained by the villagers. I have 
not been able to verify it, as I hope yet to do, but I have 
a strong suspicion that these pigeons wing their way to 
the Desert to eat a small berry and the grit, which give 
them great digestive health and a plumage of (as it were) 
painted softness. The plumage, as we all know, in the 
case of the fowl tribes, is the best indication of vigorous 
health ; and I have seen these pigeons killed in a 
few days after their return, when the closeness of 
their feathers resisted the discoloration of the blood. 
While on the subject, I may mention that there is a 
magnificent Pigeon Village five miles from Benha on 
the Nile, in which every hole has its pair of occupants ; 
thousands upon thousands are sheltered here at the cost 
of the State. Their manure is prized for application to 
the growth of the cucumber. I must be particular to state 
that cucumber and tobacco are the only two articles to 
which manure is applied. For tobacco any manure is 
indifferently used; but for the cucumber the pigeon 
manure is exclusively employed. As for wheat and 
barley and Indian corn, the water of the Nile suffices, its 
slime imparting great vegetating virtue. It is curious, 
by the way, considering its slimy character, how long 
Nile water will keep sweet. For example, on the 
Khedive's steamers running between Suez and Massouah, 
which is a six weeks' return voyage, the water is as good, 



ZA NKALO ON. 



235 



without any preparation, and as fresh at the end of the 
trip as when first shipped on board. Indeed, it is a 
remarkable fact that Nile water never turns putrid. 
But to return to the pigeons. 

They leave the village in vast clouds about eight in the 
morning to feed, and return about half-past eleven. 
About one again they go out, coming back in fche 
evening. These are termed the " wild " pigeons. They 
are shot by European sportsmen, and are different in 
both flavour and size from what are called, in contradis- 
tinction, the tame pigeons; which are kept by the 
inhabitants on the tops of their houses. Such is the 
difference between the two classes in respect of size and 
rapidity of flight that a tame pigeon is seldom shot. 

Of the Ballard or tame pigeon an Arab cottager will 
keep about five pairs. For breeders they are the best in 
the world ; they are associated with the family for years, 
during which there is no cessation of sitting and hatch- 
ing. 

There is a very large breed of what is called in England 
the Bunt, but much finer than any I have ever seen in our 
own country. They thrive famously; for, not being of 
extensive flight by reason of being large -bo died birds, 
they suit the people. Another pigeon, of considerable 
value as a food product, is supposed to have been intro- 
duced by Arabs from Algiers. It is speckled, of sandy 
and white colour ; and I take it to be a variety — able- 
bodied — of the Bunt. It is a rare thing for Egypt ever to 
have anything new in the way of live stock, and the 
breed is a marked favourite. Here I saw the largest fan- 



236 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



tails in the world.— birds of immense size ; also tlie Red 
Ruff, a beautiful bird. 

The Sacred Pigeon is a little blue pigeon, with red 
circle of eye and red legs, which is popularly supposed to 
sing Allah ! a hundred times right off. Hence it is called 
the Sacred Pigeon. It is held in the greatest veneration 
by the Egyptians, whom it is impossible to offend more 
grievously than by killing one of these. Of course they 
never think of applying it to the vulgar use of eating. 
As is everything particularly attractive, the Sacred bird 
is held to derive its origin from Mecca. 

On the Desert, where the Arab villages can supply the 
traveller with nothing but boiled pigeon, pigeons form 
the source of considerable profit. Chickens and pigeons, 
in fact, may be said to be the only means of ready money 
to the Egyptians ; and need I add that they are taxed ? 
They are not allowed to be taken into a town without 
contributing their quota to the revenue. But surely that 
is quite right and proper when even the washerwomen 
have their receipts operated upon. 

There are two species of turtle-dove here. They arrive 
in January in thousands, and in stew yield a delicious 
flavour. There are also two species of what the Egyp- 
tians call partridge, whereas they really are grouse. 
Unlike that of ordinary partridge or grouse, the height of 
their flight is very remarkable, and their rapidity is equal 
to that of parrots. They are beautifully feathered birds, 
but I was sadly disappointed in regard to their flavour, 
which by no means compares with that of their European 
cousins. In these remarks T have not sought to claim 



ZAGAZIG. 



237 



credit for scientific accuracy of exposition. My humble 
office rather is to record simply such facts of Natural 
History as came within the range of my observation. 

The pigs of Zagazig must not be forgotten. 

The Greeks, like the Irish, are very fond of pigs, 
though they are a deadly offence to Mahommedans. The 
Egyptian breed has two long teats hanging from under 
the neck, and is remarkably ugly; the ugliest I ever 
saw anywhere. I should class them as being of a wild 
nature. They feed on the refuse of the place. This 
filthy pork is made by their owners into sausages, which 
are sold in Zagazig, the Greeks having a strong liking 
for anything greasy. Their cooks are notorious for 
their singular ideas of flavours ; and on the Christmas 
Day of their Church they indulge in tremendous feeds, 
which indeed are extended over two or three days, 
like the Mahommedans after the Feast of Ramadan. At 
this season it is considered a social obligation that they 
should be visited by their friends and acquaintance, 
irrespectively of religious distinctions. The Mahommedans 
have the same views regarding the observance of their 
great festival; and, if you fail to comply with the require- 
ment, they very quietly ignore your existence for the 
future. 

I was at Zagazig at the Feast of Ramadan ; when 
nearly every householder or head of a family had a sheep 
ready for dressing. Early in the morning you see them 
seated in circles, like the Africans, many of whose habits 
may be observed here, and from whom indeed they are 
not much advanced. For over an hour they sit thus, 



238 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



admiring the sheep hanging outside the door, the fat tail 
being the principal object of admiration. (This, let me 
say in passing, is one of the regions of the fat-tailed 
sheep ; but they are very partial also to the little Asiatic- 
Aden sheep, which has the fat formation under the 
tail.) From simple admiration they proceed to con- 
gratulation of the owner upon possession of it; and 
after these ceremonious preliminaries the process of cut- 
ting it up takes place. As with bargaining, so with 
every other operation they conduct ; they must have 
their friends to witness it; the company all talking at 
the same time and becoming quite excited over the 
prospect of a bit of meat. They consume the animal, 
entrails and all. The women never appear on the scene 
until the cutting-up has been completed ; after which 
they are summoned to do their dirty work in the canal, 
to which they carry the entrails in baskets, the dripping 
from which they don't seem to mind. It must be con- 
fessed that these people make the most of their opportu- 
ties when they do occur. They fondle the meat, deriving 
satisfaction (as it were) from contact with it. 

Only at the time of Ramadan did I see the women 
walking abroad with their husbands ; and then they 
walk behind them, two or three wives amicably together, 
the son and heir led by the hand by the father, and the 
ladies carrying provisions on their heads, and their lord 
and master receiving the congratulations of passing 
friends and reciprocating their compliments. 

It was on one of the days of the festival that a beauti- 
ful retriever dog belonging to my friend Mr. Clarke 



ZAGAZIG. 



239 



went up to an effendi, coaxingly inviting to be caressed. 
The fact of being touched by an unclean animal, par- 
ticularly by a dog belonging to a Christian, provoked his 
profoundest indignation, and he would have torn off his 
garments and cast them away if he could have purchased 
others. As he could speak English, I sought to pacify 
him by expressing my surprise that he should make such 
a fuss about a fine dog coming up to him. " For shame! 
for shame ! " was the reply. c ' Why do you allow your 
dog to approach me at such a time as this ? " And the 
conceited young creature thereupon began lecturing me 
in a most disgraceful manner. 

It is easy to rouse the fury of fanaticism. 

In this connection I can well remember an occasion 
upon which a Mahommedan was inveighing bitterly 
against the Christians. When he ceased, I approached 
him and, declining to discuss theology with him, desired 
to ask him a plain straightforward question, the answer 
to which his own experience would supply. e< How is 
it," said I, "that the whole Mahommedan race cannot 
prosper without Christian rule ? In spite of all that 
despotism, aided by the national character for avarice, 
can do for you, yet, without the stimulating element of 
the Christian, you fail to make any progress, or to bene- 
fit yourselves. How is this ? " The man was taken aback. 
That consideration seemed not to have struck his mind 
before ; but, after a pause of some duration, he admitted 
in a subdued tone — " It is quite true ! 93 and walked 
thoughtfully away. 

There is a famous butcher's shop in Zagazig. Whence 



240 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



he gets his supplies I cannot make out ; but he has 
provided me with really good beef and mutton, as good, 
in fact, as one could wish to have. In that respect I 
may say that I lived at Zagazig as well as anywhere in 
my life. He was a Greek (Greek butchers in the East 
are particularly clean), and he killed after the European 
mode. 

Table luxuries plentifully reward the sportsman here ; 
as the bill of fare on one occasion of my dining with Mr. 
Hodgson (whose kindness to me I shall presently 
specify) will proclaim. Besides capital joints of beef and 
mutton, we had a turkey weighing thirty pounds, a 
Desert hare, and wild game comprising duck, snipe, 
goose, and woodcock, examples of the Natural History of 
Zagazig, upon the table, and served up most temptingly. 
I shall not be violating the privacy of domestic life in 
mentioning that to Mrs. Hodgson all the credit of the 
culinary triumph belonged. With the intelligent industry 
of an English wife she has trained an Arab to wonderful 
proficiency in English cookery. It was an entertain- 
ment, the memory of which will be cherished by the 
writer of these pages ; and it was appropriately brought 
to a conclusion with a jolly plum-pudding. I gravely 
question if there are many establishments in Egypt in 
which the like results could have been achieved with the 
same materials for so bountiful a spread. 

I visited a village in the neighbourhood, the inhabi- 
tants of which were in a great uproar over the arrival of 
a very large Egyptian ichneumon, which they call the 
nimph. It was almost of the dimensions of a small 



CAIRO. 



241 



badger, and had committed sad slaughter among the 
poultry. The animal's bite is formidable, going right 
through the object it assails; it occasionally destroys 
large snakes ; and no Arab dog will venture to face one. 
I once saw one glide into some rushes and snap up a 
wild duck before its victim could know what was the 
matter. As the villagers themselves could not destroy 
life, its career was one of unchecked mischief ; and they 
knew not how to rid themselves of their tormentor until 
the arrival of Mr. Clarke, who soon settled the difficulty. 
The nimph abounds in this part, but will rapidly yield to 
the increase of cultivation. 

Life in Cairo is not unworthy of delineation. 

As a very oasis in the Desert, as an institution that 
really fulfils what it professes to do, so efficiently and yet 
so modestly, the admirable school personally conducted 
by Miss Whately, daughter of the late illustrious Arch- 
bishop of Dublin, challenges and rewards attention. 
The social value of this lady is simply incalculable. Her 
refinement of mind and character, and the unaffected 
domestic simplicity of her English habits, stand out in 
startling contrast with the vulgarism rampant in what are 
called high places. When the Princess of Wales was 
here, she exemplified her judgment and taste in honouring 1 
this excellent lady with a visit. Civilisation's debt to her 
may be partly measured by the fact that the school is 
carried on with her own private means, chiefly. She does 
obtain some aid, I believe, from England ; and sensibly 
enough, when help is tendered, it is not refused. Her 
practical aim, to which she directs an energy of character 



242 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



incapable of being subdued either by Cairo intrigues or 
by Oriental lassitude, is to teach the little barbarians to 
wash themselves, and to sew and read ; and she has 
Syrian Scripture readers to teach them the Word of God 
in Arabic. The work she has taken in hand Miss 
Whately discharges thoroughly and well. 

Making my visit to Cairo incog., I had a secret satis- 
faction in being able to witness the current of social life ; 
which daily flows on the Shoebury road. 

The General and his lady of course are conspicuous by 
their presence. Of the minor celebrities most notable is 
the individual who fills the important post of tooth- 
extracter to the Harem. Whether his duties are onerous 
I cannot say ; but the reflection occasioned by the fly in 
amber arose to my mind at once when I learned that he had 
been only a common soldier in the English army. How 
exactly he contrived to achieve the leap from that humble 
grade to the perilous height of attending to the teeth of 
the inhabitants of the Harem would be a curious romance, 
I have no doubt ; but there he is, and a mighty swell at 
Cairo he is. It may comfort my fair readers, troubled 
with visions of violent tugging at martial hands, to know 
that Circassian mouths can put up with stouter treatment 
than would be considered the thing in England. 

The next carriage was not imposing in its contents, 
decidedly not ; and I could not refrain from lamenting 
that England was so wretchedly represented in the matter 
of physique. Beside him sits his spouse, clothed in a low 
pink silk dress, and playing off all the airs of an ambas- 
sadress. The delusion was dissipated when I saw her 



CAIRO, 



243 



step out of the carriage. The hands and the feet forbade 
the notion of patrician extraction, and I was satisfied 
that people like these could aspire to nothing higher 
than the consular status. The male occupant of the 
carriage wore white kid gloves and altogether looked like 
a Frenchman off to a ball ; but every excuse must be 
made for him, — a Levantine, born in Damascus ; and it is 
hard to rid oneself of the influence of early training. 

Nuba Pasha was about, surrounded by numerous 
attendants as all Egyptian magnates are, his retinue 
jabbering furiously as if resolved to talk each other down. 
He is decidedly an elegant man, and the impression I 
derived from this view of him, which afterwards proved 
to be a wrong one, was that he was kind-hearted. By 
birth an Armenian, he was educated by Mr. West, the 
consul at Suez, as I have already had occasion to explain, 
and is a good linguist. Several young Egyptians, I may 
add, are good linguists. They have a certain capacity for 
acquiring language; but they are perfectly devoid of 
original power. 

The best people in the East now, free from the sus- 
picion of adventurous intrigue, are the officials of the 
Telegraph Service. They are acknowledged to be the 
only absolutely honest department in the whole extent of 
the Viceroy' s administration. This is unique praise ; 
and I accord to it the distinction of a special paragraph. 

The praise just recorded of the Telegraph I cannot 
repeat of the Kailway service. While I was in the neigh- 
bourhood of* Cairo, there was a prodigious commotion 
raised by the discovery that a number of Egyptian offi- 



244 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



cials had, for a long time, been forging railway tickets , 
by which, means they had appropriated considerable 
sums of money to their own use. Suspicion somehow 
fell upon one of them. He was without any warning laid 
down on the ground, and his behind assailed with 200 
blows; which extorted from him confession of the com- 
plicity of two or three others. This was enough. He 
was put into chains while his confederates were sent for ; 
and the bastinado soon made them confess the whole 
fraud. But the Egyptian government is not content 
with punishment. It must have the money refunded. 
Ascertaining who their relations were, they called upon 
them to provide the needful, and the needful they got, 
beggaring most of the victims in the process. Resist- 
ance is out of the question. The bastinado has peculiarly 
persuasive powers ; and the bastinado they would have 
had until they made disclosure of their means. Indeed 
it would require a volume to do anything like justice to 
the terribly important part played by the bastinado. It 
is pervasive as well as persuasive. Even as Britons 
could never get on without the British Constitution, the 
Egyptians would lose their national identity altogether if 
the bastinado were not plied as widely and vigorously as 
it is. Suppose the order of an official on the Government 
railway to be disobeyed ; the effendi is brought into the 
office ; his trousers are taken down, and he gets fifty 
blows administered to him, with the intimation that next 
time one hundred will be the measure of his punishment. 
gi If you will let me off this time, I will never do it 
again/' exclaims the offender. The man laying it on 



CAIRO. 



245 



expresses the hope that lie will not do it again ; as far as 
he personally is concerned, he shall not do it again ; but, 
for this once, why, he'll make him feel what it is like. 
And the thrashing is faithfully rendered. The khavasses, 
I believe, look upon their share in the transaction as a 
great privilege. Certain it is that you may see criminals 
who have been subjected to their operations salute them 
most respectfully in the street. A great institution 
verily is the bastinado. 

Even literary property is not secure from invasion, or 
rather appropriation, where a Pasha desires to obtain the 
credit of authorship. It is seldom that lawlessness takes 
such a turn, which, simple and trifling as it seems, yet 
really affects property; but I know of a case in which a 
young Egyptian, who had been sent to England for 
education and had lived among us for several years, 
wrote a book in Arabic on "The Manners and Customs of 
the English/ Tidings of the work reaching the ears of 
a Pasha, the MS. was seized from its author and owner, 
and the book published as the production of the Pasha. 
In the country of " the enlightened Khedive " the notion 
of redress for this or any other wrong perpetrated by a 
Pasha is to be scouted ; and this gratification of literary 
vanity and ambition, I have no doubt, was regarded as 
one of the playful extravagances of power ; but it was rob- 
bery with violence for all that. 

Let me here record a fact which, of recent occur- 
rence, does not admit of denial. 

A dashing young Turkish officer, one of the gentle- 
men-in-waiting to the Viceroy, happened to be in the 



246 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



neighbourhood of the court up which one of the inmates 
of the viceregal Harem was passing on her way to the 
Opera. Availing himself of the tempting opportunity, 
he stood and gazed at her ; and the fair one, it may 
be presumed from her making no noise about the in- 
trusion, did not object to the admiration. The vision, 
however, was too much for the inflamed youth, who 
could not restrain himself from laudation of the fair 
one's charms to a less fortunate companion. Tidings 
of the matter thus reached the ears of the Viceroy; 
whose jealous rage was provoked to such a pitch that 
he had him executed. 

To prevent the possibility of such surprises in the 
future, care has been taken to adopt another passage 
to the Theatre ; and for a long time the occupants of the 
Harem, owing to this mishap, were not permitted to 
enjoy the Opera. The Viceroy's jealousy is of un- 
governable fury ; and death assuredly would be the 
penalty of any European invader of the Harem's sanctity. 

The eunuchs seem to atone for their effeminacy by 
their preternatural cunning. They are very tractable, 
however ; and I can say that I have never yet seen an 
obstinate one. One singular privilege they enjoy is 
freedom from the bastinado ; and in Egypt that may 
well be pronounced to be a markedly delightful ex- 
emption. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS. 
Zagazig. 

About three <y clock in the afternoon of the 25th of 
November, 1873, I rode out of Zagazig on my white 
donkey, My only attendant was the Abyssinian donkey- 
boy, and the only weapon with which I was provided was 
a small stick to urge the donkey with. Mr. Clarke of 
the Telegraph Service had parted company with me 
outside the town, bound himself on a shooting excursion 
into the fields. My course out of the town lay over a 
road which bordered a branch of the Nile, and I pro- 
posed to visit the cotton factory at Zankaloon, the pro- 
perty of Ali Pasha ; whose son, it may be remembered, 
married the daughter of the Viceroy. As I journeyed, I 
passed M. Mouriez on horseback, a French gentleman 
resident in Zagazig, and we saluted each other. I kept 



248 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG 



on until I arrived at a turning which led towards the 
village of Sherweda. The wheat here was looking well, 
and I was taking a calm survey of the vast fields of it 
and riding leisurely along, when suddenly I heard the 
sounds of blows being delivered, and loud screams and 
cries for help. I recognised the voice as being that of 
Mr. Clarke from whom I had parted about an hour ago. 
I dismounted at once, and, dashing through some high- 
grown Indian corn, proceeded in the direction whence 
the cries issued. There I saw Mr Clarke being severely 
beaten by about sixty Arabs, who surrounded him, Ad- 
vancing to his rescue unarmed as I was, I received a 
blow on the back of my head with a gun-stock, which 
felled me to the ground. While prostrate thus, the 
whole body of Arabs set upon me with narboots"* and 
other sticks, and beat me fearfully. I soon became in- 
sensible from the cruel punishment; and, when I 
partially recovered consciousness, I found myself bound 
with ropes back to back to Mr. Clarke, and being 
violently dragged for a considerable distance towards a 
tree, our assailants continuing to overwhelm us with 
blows during the whole time. Upon reaching the tree, 
they soon made it evident that it was their inten- 
tion to hang us. I need not say that long before this 
point was reached my clothes had been torn off me, 
leaving me almost in a state of nudity. A rope was now 
put round our necks, we still being tied together, and 

* Stout sticks used by the Arabs in husbandry, to detach the soil 
from the plough. 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS. 249 



the end of it was thrown over a projecting bough of a 
tree, up which they tried to haul us ; but, fortunately for 
us, the united weight of our bodies proved to be too 
great a strain upon the rope ; which snapping, we fell to 
the ground. But for this happy accident we should then 
and there have been despatched. 

The person who took the most prominent and active 
part in this attempt to execute us was a Mahommedan 
priest and snake-charmer, who now seized a narboot 
and, spitting on his hands to secure his hold of it, hit me 
about the loins and over the lower part of my body until 
I was one mass of bloody raw. The pain was excruciating. 
Mr. Clarke said : " My dear Hamilton, they are going to 
kill you. For myself, I am in such agony that I don't 
mind if they do put me to death. All my concern now 
is for my poor wife and children." The blows came 
down on me so continuously that the pain left me no 
time for reflection. One of the ruffians, at this stage of 
the proceedings, urged my chief assailant to hit me over 
the head with a gun-stock and so kill me outright. 
This he would have done in the violence of his blind 
fury, there can be no doubt. But the absence of the 
donkey-boy was suddenly noticed by one of the slaves, an 
Ethiopian black. " Where is the donkey-boy gone?" 
he inquired ; and, as though he anticipated the danger of 
discovery, he added, pointing to me, — " If you kill him, 
we shall all be killed; blood for blood." 

This disapea ranee of the donkey-boy seemed to make 
the whole multitude realise their position. The propo- 
sition to finish me off with the gun-stock was at once 



250 



ORIEXTAL ZIGZAG. 



abandoned. But they did not think of releasing us or 
ceasing tlieir violence against us. 

We were then dragged to the village of Sherweda. a 
distance of about a mile, being beaten with narboots 
the whole way. By reason of Mr. Clarke's being much 
shorter than myself, I had partly to carry him upon my 
back ; and, owing to the brutal force with which we were 
hurried along, I thought my arm was dislocated. "When 
we arrived at the village, the population turned out ; and, 
instead of coming to our assistance or relief, they hooted 
at us, and spat upon lis, calling us " Christian dogs of 
Englishmen." We were now thrown down into a portico 
of the house of Osman Abaza, the cousin of the Viceroy 
of Egypt; the brother of the Governor- General of the 
Province, and the son of the late Minister of Finance. 
Here at any rate it might be supposed that we should 
have got protection. On the contrary, Osman Abaza 
incited the mob to further acts of violence. Every sort 
of indignity was cast upon us. The spitting was con- 
tinued; the blows rained down upon our prostrate forms; 
and Osman Abaza' s malediction of us as being "Christian 
dogs " was followed — as cause is by effect — by the break- 
ing over my head of a Turkish slipper. Nor was the 
treatment of me simply brutal ; it was also disgusting. 
All this time, from pain and loss of blood, I was more or 
less in a swooning state ; and the general impression was 
that I was dead. 

When Mr. Clarke told Osman Abaza I was the son of 
an English Pasha, the information was received with 
sneers. When he was told that my friends had extended 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS. 251 



every respect and hospitality to the Viceroy, on his visit 
to England, lie answered that the Viceroy was nothing to 
him ; that his family had set the Viceroy on the throne ; 
and that therefore the Viceroy dare not say anything to 
him. The unbridled insolence of his tongue and 
demeanour was such as to defy description ; and the 
ruffians, stimulated by his attitude and encouraged by his 
lawless example, continued to heap indignities upon me ; 
spitting upon me, kicking me, beating me. 

This treatment could not have been continued much 
longer without killing us outright ; and the task of dis- 
posing of our bodies would have been the simplest in the 
world. With the ease characteristic of Egyptian officials, 
our bodies would have been thrown into the Nile, and a 
report issued to the effect that we were drowned in cross- 
ing it. But, however they meant to get rid of these 
evidences of their guilt, their course of savagery was 
arrested by the appearance on the scene of M. Mouriez, 
the French gentleman whom I have mentioned above as 
having been passed by me on my ride out of Zagazig, 
and a Greek. My faithful donkey-boy, who had witnessed 
the beginning of the assault, had started off to give 
information of it at Zagazig; and hence the arrival of our 
preservers. 

Addressing himself to Osman Abaza, M, Mouriez, with 
a bravery that took no account of the number of our 
ruffian assailants, determinedly demanded our release. 
His spirit and resolution completely abashed the cowards. 
They fell back from our gallant deliverer ; and the Greek 
proceeded to cut the ropes with which we were bound; 



2$2 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



after which we were helped on to mules and, with the 
support necessitated by our helpless condition, conveyed 
to the Mooderiah (or Police Station) at Zagazig. There 
I was laid on a stone bench, insensible, for three hours ; 
during which time the officials did not interrupt their 
game of back-gammon. With a devotion to the game 
which nothing could disturb, the Agent of the Bey 
listened to the evidence which Mr. Clarke, weak and 
exhausted as he was, was able to give ; but he never so 
much as got up to come and look at my condition as I lay 
in the room. The Bey of the town, also, the brother of 
Osman Abaza,"^ never came near me although, as I firmly 
believe, he was in the village of Sherweda at the time of 
the outrage ; which doubtless had his sanction as it had 
the active sympathy and encouragement of his own 
brother. By this time the tidings had spread over 
Zagazig, and the European population had come out in 
search of us. Mr. Hodgson lost no time in fetching the 
Government doctor (an Arab qualified in Berlin), who 
pronounced my wounds to be most dangerous. The blow 
at the back of my neck had brought on a dreadful cough, 
which he took to be a very bad symptom. 

This was all we got in the way of official recognition at 
the Mooderiah. 

From the Mooderiah I was conveyed to the house of 

* Osman Abaza has since this been appointed to the Governorship 
of Zankaloon, from which post the Agent of Ali Pasha (who called 
to see me and expressed Ms deep sympathy and concern for me) was 
dismissed to make room for him ; and further, a brother of his has 
obtained the office at Bourdain. 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS. 253 



my friend and fellow-sufferer, Mr. Clarke, where I lay for 
several days in a condition little removed from death, 
with hardly any use of my limbs. The kind friends 
by whom I was surrounded* despaired of my life. My 
injuries were such that even the Arab doctor said the 
bruises and wounds required to be actually seen to be 
understood, and that only a photograph could enable 
those not present to realise the spectacle. 

A telegram was immediately despatched to the Consu- 
late at Cairo ; but, on learning when I recovered my 
senses for a few minutes that no result had come of it, I 
directed another to be sent intimating that I should have 
Earl Granville telegraphed to if steps were not taken 
immediately to secure my (as I thought it to be) dying 
deposition. Even this was unattended to ; not the 
slightest notice was taken of either of the two communica- 
tions. The British representatives having failed to attend 
to the interests of Her Majesty's subjects, Nuba Pasha, 
the Minister for Foreign Affairs, three days after sent a 
messenger to apprise us that our assailants should be 
duly punished, and that we should be handsomely com- 
pensated for the injuries we had sustained, and compli- 
menting me on my bravery in going, although unarmed, 
to the assistance of my countryman. 

Thus it will be seen that the matter, neglected by the 
British representatives, drifted into the hands of the 

# Among these I must not fail to record the names of the two 
brothers Hodgson, and of Mr. Allen, of Alexandria, who came up on 
hearing of the outrage ; and my deepest obligations are due to Mr. 
M'Cullough who hastened to my relief from Suez. 



254 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



Egyptian authorities; who were directly concerned in 
defeating the ends of justice. I invite the reader's atten- 
tion to this remarkable fact. 

Well, Nuba Pasha's Arab messenger arrived; and he, 
when my wounds were shewn to hirn, took up a patent 
linen-peg lying on a table in the rooni, and began to 
expatiate upon the advantages of the wonderful invention. 
All Arabs have strong commercial proclivities towards 
linen-drapery; and this man's thoughts were diverted 
from the proper subject into the channel of patent linen- 
pegs. He then lighted his pipe and had some coffee. 
I roused myself to the exertion of inquiring, as I may be 
pardoned for thinking I had a perfect right to do, et Why 
has not somebody from the Consulate been here before 
to take down my deposition?" "Oh!" was the reply; 
"Borg (the Maltese dragoman at the Consulate) said 
you were only some common Englishman or engineer." 
The reply characteristically pointed to the principle upon 
which the Consulate worked* My indignation at its 
brutality inspired me with strength ; I acquired energy 
from the occasion. "God help me!" I exclaimed, 
" Colonel Stanton ought to be ashamed of himself to 
allow such remarks to be made at the Consulate. Colonel 
Stanton may or may not know who or what I am. It 
should be sufficient for him to know that I am an 
Englishman." 

Meanwhile a Maltese named Felice, a servant of the 
Bey of Zagazig, who at that time held no official position 
under the Consulate but who in December was appointed 
Consul- Agent, officiously interfered in the matter; and, 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITTSH SUBJECTS. 255 



by way of investing himself with importance in the eyes 
of the Arab community, he gave this delegate of Nuba 
Pasha a letter addressed to Mr. Clarke, requesting him to 
let the man see my wounds. Still; it will be seen, our 
case was in the hands of Egyptian officials with dark 
interests of their own; and it is but bare justice to Felice 
to say that he did not neglect the opportunity that pre- 
sented itself to emerge from the obscurity of his station, 
and to curry favour with the powers that be at Cairo. 
Destitute of all authority as he was, and ignorant as he 
notoriously is, though plentifully endowed with Maltese 
cunning, he assumed a vast importance, and took good 
care to associate himself most closely with Nuba Pasha's 
delegate, whom he entertained under his own roof. The 
delegate had informed me of the capture of six out of 
the six hundred who had been concerned in the assault 
upon us. I demanded that they should be brought in 
chains before me, as I considered an example should be 
made of them. Felice, determined to have a say in 
everything, hastened to express his approval of my 
demand ; cc Certainly the prisoners must be brought up in 
chains. - " Presently I heard the clanking of chains on the 
stairs, and the wretches were ushered in. 

I was very ill at the time, hardly able to move my hand 
up to my head; and excellent Mrs. Clarke, with the ten- 
der consideration which marked all her proceedings in this 
terrible domestic catastrophe, made pillows out of new 
cotton with which I was propped up, to enable me to 
recognise the culprits. One of them, let me say here, was 
an especial favorite of the Bey of Sherweda; and he 



256 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



positively denied having taken any part in the outrage, 
further appealing to a deposition signed by one of the 
sheikhs of Zankaloon, who was bastinadoed with four 
hundred blows on the feet (which caused them to swell up 
to his knees) into the confession that this man was not of 
the number. The Bey's favorite was a man of consider- 
able means, which it was desired to protect against 
possible confiscation. The Agent at Zankaloon, however,, 
communicated the fact of the torture of one of his tribu- 
taries to Ali Pasha; whose influence with the Viceroy 
defeated the conspiracy and insured the poor sheikh 
against further torture: and I need hardly add that when, 
in spite of the bastinado-compelled deposition, the ruffian 
with the rest was put on his trial (as the mockery of 
justice was politely termed), he was represented to be a 
man of straw. This by the way, as a small instance of 
how they manage things in Egypt. But to resume. 

No sooner were they in the room than I at once recog- 
nised the features of the priest and snake-charmer 
who had been my most envenomed assailant. He 
was habited with the green turban, the emblem of his 
sacerdotal dignity ; which entitles its wearer to the support 
and worshipful entertainment of any village he may pass 
through. Determined to abate the scoundrel's evident 
pride in his adornment, upon which he might have calcu- 
lated for exemption from any penalty, I desired that his 
turban should at once be removed, in my presence. He 
resisted the degradation; but, weak as I was, I was equal 
to the occasion. Raising my voice to the highest pitch I 
could then summon, I repeated the direction; whereupon, 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS, 257 



the Arab delegate announcing " This is an English 
gentleman/' a Turkish khavass forcibly removed it from 
his head amid the loud clamours of the whole multitude, 
who began to jabber in concert. There is no love lost, 
as I think I have already explained, between the Turk 
and the Egyptian ; and the khavass, to add to the 
1 indignity involved in the operation, soundly slapped his 
face,— as I should have been tempted to do myself, I fear, 
if I had been able to use my limbs. The fellow's personal 
stateliness was now considerably reduced, as he stood 
uncovered before me, for he was, like all Mahommedans, 
closely shaven on the head with the exception of the tiny 
tuft which is left to enable Mahommed to pull the faithful 
into Paradise with. But with this satisfaction I got some- 
thing more than I bargained for. The turban was alive 
with vermin ; and with all speed it had to be tossed out 
of window. 

With the recognition of this wretch I was satisfied ; 
and the six prisoners were taken back to prison, greatly 
to my relief from the oppressive Arab smells with which 
my room was invaded. 

Felice now had full scope for gratifying his inordinate 
ambition to employ himself most busily in the most 
laborious occupation of doing nothing ; Felice, the Maltese 
servant of the Bey of Zagazig, who had no locus standi 
whatever in the matter, and who, if he had, could not 
read Arabic, and had only a smattering of conversational 
familiarity with the language, affected to take supreme 
charge of the case. It passes my power to explain what 
was done, or what there possibly could have been to be 

s 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



done, in the interval that elapsed between this date and 
the day of the so-called trial ; which took place about a 
month after. Egyptian justice, as we all know, is not apt 
to be so tardy where Egyptian interests are concerned. 
But, during all this period, neither the Consul General 
nor the Consul, nor any one duly authorised from the Con- 
sulate ever came near me; and Felice's assumption of 
official airs not only had the effect of provoking the ridi- 
cule of the Arab authorities, but reflected injuriously upon 
ourselves, since it shewed that the enforcement of the 
claims of justice in our behalf was neglected by those 
who should have been intimately concerned in seeing 
that the interests of Englishmen were duly upheld. Let 
my readers bear in mind, in reference to this cruel and 
disgraceful abandonment of their functions by both the 
Consul General and the Consul, that their respective 
residences were within two hours of Zagazig by rail. 
Let them remember that the Consulate had been informed 
of the dangerous condition in which I lay ; and that this 
neglect of duty continued for three months. If I may 
not venture to define the limits of Consular authority, at 
any rate I shall be pardoned for thinking that I had a 
claim to be attended to ; that I had a right to demand 
and to obtain the protection of the British authorities in 
Egypt; and that their total neglect of me — a neglect 
which could not possibly have been completer if I had 
been utterly non-existent — must compel a searching 
Parliamentary Inquiry. 

After a month I was set upon a donkey and conveyed 
to the Mooderiah, — an exertion which, for all the support 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS. 2 so 



with which. I was maintained in my seat, nearly killed 
me, — where I saw the judge sent from Benha to investi- 
gate the case, a fine handsome old man of seventy. On 
my entering the divan, he rose from his seat. This was 
the first sign of civility yet accorded to me ; and I felt 
grateful for it. He even insisted upon my sitting on his 
right hand ; and he also was very courteous to Mr. Clarke. 
Felice of course did his best to accommodate his bearing 
to the occasion on which he assumed to himself unautho- 
rised functions, and paid great court to his master the 
Bey, who was in attendance. A pipe., a yard and a half 
long, almost all of amber and ornamented with gold, was 
brought in to the judge, who lighted it and handed it to 
me, and then was supplied with another for himself ; as 
were the rest of the Beys. As for Felice, his social and 
official standing was indicated by the fact that nothing in 
the way of smoking was offered to him. Presently in 
came coffee, which was served out in silver and gold cups 
not unlike our egg-cups. When it was offered to me, I 
affected politeness in waiting to see the old judge partake 
of it before me, whereas really I was not altogether free 
from suspicion that poison might lurk in the cup • but, 
when I saw him take it, I was reassured, and addressed 
myself to the excellent refreshment. While we were so 
engaged, the clank of chains heralding his approach, 
the priest prisoner was introduced in the custody of four 
khavasses. I signified to the judge that he had been my 
worst assailant, whereupon the judge directed him to come 
close. He fell upon his face and kissed the ground; after 
which prostration he got up, one of the khavasses fetch - 

s2 



260 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



ing him a tremendous slap on the face for not getting up 
more quickly. The Arab rule being to treat you as what 
you are, and not for what you have been, the loss of the 
green turban exposed him to indignities of all sorts. He 
was ordered to stand back against the wall, and got well 
sworn at. Then was brought in the prisoner whom the 
Bey of Sherweda had vainly exerted his influence to save. 
To him succeeded a youth of about eighteen, whom a 
violent slap on the face toppled over to the floor, from 
which he found it somewhat difficult to get on his feet 
again, owing to the weight of his chains. Then another, 
who would have inflicted a frightful injury upon me but for 
the generous interposition of two Ethiopians. There was 
one, too, who I do not think had anything to do with the 
assault ; — a semi-lunatic, who had been nearly starved in 
prison by reason of his relatives being too poor to main- 
tain him at their own private expense, as the relatives in 
the district are expected to do. Slapping and swearing 
were freely dispensed to all the criminals, after the 
universally prevalent practice ; which extends even to the 
witnesses, when they do not speak loud enough. 

The room in which these strange proceedings took 
place under the pretext of a judicial tribunal was full of 
draughts, which, in the condition in which I then was, 
affected me acutely. The exertion involved in my removal 
to the Court had been more than enough for me; and I 
naturally was anxious to see some progress made in the 
real business for which I had been summoned. Through 
Mr. Clarke, therefore, I demanded justice as an English- 
man, and expressed my unwillingness to see all this 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS. 261 



knocking about of the prisoners, which was mere non- 
sense ; and I particularly asked why Osman Abaza was 
not included in the number of the prisoners. To this 
inquiry Felice answered that " His Excellency " was in 
one of the adjoining rooms, and that he had admitted the 
truth of all my representations ; and Felice shewed me 
what he said was his confession in Arabic, to which he 
solicited and obtained my signature : but the document 
was neither read to the Court nor interpreted to me. 

We sat here for two hours, during which the old judge 
smoked and chatted about the rise and fall of the cotton 
market, varying the conversation with inquiries for 
Effendi This, who was reported to be at prayers; for 
Effendi That, who was reported to be at meals ; for 
Effendi Other, who was reported to be asleep ; and so on 
through along list of people. Finally we were told that 
we should be called again, but no day was appointed. In 
about a week after this, however, quite late in the even- 
ing, we were again invited to attend; when the same 
process of smoking and talking was gone through in the 
presence of the prisoners : but no business was done. 
And, as if I had not already suffered enough in mind, 
body, and pocket, I was pestered for baksheesh by the 
throng inside a,nd outside the Court. This went on for 
weeks. All the arrangements, instead of securing the 
despatch of business, seemed to be made for the purpose 
of serving as excuses for coffee-drinking and pipe-smok- 
ing ; and perhaps there was a little excitement provided 
for the officials in ordering us about. During these 
hitherings and thitherings, however, it was a remarkable 



262 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



circumstance that Osnian Abaza's brother/ the Governor 
General of the Province, should say to me : — " I am a 
particular friend of Mr. Eogers ; I have only to address to 
him a letter in French, to put it all right " ; — adding the 
comment : ee Twenty napoleons at any time will buy an 
Englishman, dead or alive." This, situated as I was, 
without the aid of the British representatives all through 
my difficulties, was calculated to stagger me as to the 
result of the inquiry professedly set on foot ; and Felice 
himself, on the 15th of December, 1873, approached me 
with the following communication, which luckily for 
myself has been preserved = 

cc Charles Hamilton Esquire, 

I wish you will come as far as my house tomorrow 
at ? a. m., in order to speak something about the affair 
before presenting ourselves to Meglis, and we will take 
coffee together. 

Yours truly 

S. F. 

15/12/73." 

In my anxiety to expedite the course of events, I went 
to the appointment, ill as I was, supported on a donkey 
by the donkey-boy and Mr. Clarke ; the latter of whom, 
although he was in a room adjoining that in which the 
interview took place, heard our conversation. Felice 
received me with every show of civility ; but I refused 
the proffered coffee, and desired him to speak the 
" something " to which he alluded in his brief but signi- 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS. 263 



ficant note. " Oh ! " began he, " I've been very anxious 
to see yon. The delegate (of Nuba Pasha) says they'll 
give you a hundred pounds, out of which you must give 
him twenty and me twenty, leaving sixty pounds clear 
for yourself. All you have to say is that Clarke shot the 
girl in the ear; and he being a Telegraph official will 
have to submit ; and all will be made right." To enable 
the reader to understand this reference to Mr, Clarke, 
let me explain that, in the teeth of overwhelming evidence 
to the contrary, the original assault upon him was 
pretended to be based upon his having accidentally shot 
a girl of the village of Sherweda in the ear. I repelled 
the proposition with scornful indignation, and, telling 
him that this interview established the truth of the 
character I had had of him as a dangerous schemer, I 
immediately left him, and never held any further private 
communication with him. 

On the 9th of December a telegram was despatched 
from the Consulate at Cairo by the dragoman Borg to 
Felice :— 

"Let Hamilton and Clarke send in their claims for 
damages." 

Our claims accordingly were sent in to the Consulate ; 
for £1000 and £500. In eight days a despatch, which 
was hawked about Zagazig with the design of bringing 
us into ridicule and contempt with the Court then in 
session, was received by Felice from Borg, and shewn 
to us, in which he intimated the desirability of our 



264 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



modifying our claims ; and, upon receipt of this despatch 
from the Maltese dragoman at the Consulate, Felice 
addressed to me the annexed communication, which I 
copy verbatim et literatim : — 

" Ch. Hamilton Esquire, 

" Sir — I beg to inform you that I just received a 
despatch from Cairo, inclosing both the statements we 
sent for the claim of £1000 and 500 which should be 
submitted to the Meglis that is now sitting at Za^azip: 
in the matter. 

" I am at same time to inform you both gentlemen that 
you would better moderate your demands and I will 
submit to the Meglis the claim you will make. 

" I beg to return you back both statements, and as 
you have to state your projects and observations you may 
as well state your claim in the same. 

I remain 

yonr's sincerely 
S. P." 

17/12. 

Our answer to this was simply to renew the claims we 
had sent in. The despatch from Borg to Felice [Arcades 
amho, i.e. Maltese both), in which it was intimated that 
we should modify our claims, was, as I have already 
written, hawked about Zagazig, and, being regarded as 
an official snub to us from head-quarters at Cairo, en- 
couraged all concerned to treat us with open jeers and 
contempt. Felice himself joined in these demonstra- 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS. 265 



tions of undisguised mockery ; and, when I met him in 
the garden of his master the Bey, where he was smoking 
in the company of Nuba Pasha's delegate, he derisively 
asked me " What can you do now ? w ; and soon even the 
Bey took part in the humiliating " chaff" directed against 
me. Hereupon I addressed a letter to the Consul 
General, complaining of my interests being intrusted to 
the keeping of the Maltese dragoman at Cairo, who was 
acting in this strange manner with his fellow Maltese 
Felice, and invoking his personal interference. I regret 
I did not keep a copy of my communication ; to which 
the Consul General replied (see Appendix) that he could 
"take no notice" of the remarks which personal ob- 
servation of the mode in which the interests of a British 
subject were being sacrificed certainly warranted me in 
addressing to him. After this rebuff from the highest 
Consular authority in Egypt, intelligence of which soon 
spread all over Zagazig, I was subjected to the most 
outrageous insults. The middle of January had now 
arrived ; nothing had been done ; and it was only too 
clear that nothing was meant to be done ; and meanwhile 
Felice had returned from a short holiday trip to Cairo, 
which obviously had not depressed his spirits. 

My patience almost exhausted, I wrote to Mr. Eogers, 
the Consul at Cairo, on 16th January 1874, claiming 
compensation for detention. This letter (which together 
with all the papers in my possession will be found set out 
at length and in order of chronology, in the Appendix) 
was on the 19th of the same month acknowledged by 
Mr. Rogers ; whose concluding assurance of his " sincere 



266 ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 

sympathy w with me is admirably illustrated by the 
whole course of his conduct to me. It will be observed 
herein that I am for the first time told of the conclusion 
of the trial and of the conviction and sentencing of the 
various prisoners. Only when I press my claim does any 
such information reach me. I left Zagazig, prostrated 
both in mind and in body ; for Suez; where on the 17th 
February— a whole month after Mr. Rogers 3 last letter to 
me — I received a communication from hirn, covering " a 
translation of the concluding paragraph" of the Judg- 
ment of the Court. Eeserving for the Appendix such 
brief comment as this communication requires from me ; 
I may here state that I replied to it on the 19th of the 
same month. Let me ; however, ask the reader to note 
that, whereas I was expressly detained in Zagazig up to 
the end of January 1874 for the purposes of the trial then 
pending, the Judgment professes to have been delivered 
on the 24th of December 1873. The ramifications of 
Egyptian intrigue are such that I almost despair of 
carrying the intelligence of my reader along with me in 
the course of this narrative of my sufferings ; but I meet 
that statement with a note from Felice himself, dated the 
24th January, which shews that the u trial 99 (as it was 
called) was not concluded even on this last date. 

In the foregoing pages I have set forth, as clearly as 
the perplexed and perplexing circumstances would 
permit, the full particulars of my wrongs. Through the 
kind offices of my friend Mr. Sheridan, the member for 
Dudley, the attention of Parliament has been called to 
the subject ; but, owing to the lateness of the Session, 



THE OUTRAGE ON BRITISH SUBJECTS. 267 



he was unable to do more than ask a few questions, to 
which the usual official replies have been returned. The 
subject, however, will not be allowed to rest there. A 
Parliamentary Inquiry into the conduct of the Consul 
General and the Consul is what I demand in the name of 
a grossly maltreated and brutally outraged Englishman ; 
and I appeal to my countrymen and my countrywomen 
to give me the precious aid of their sympathy, and their 
influence towards securing for me the Englishman's 
privilege t of Fair Play. My health has been seriously 
undermined; and the task which I have undertaken, 
involving the exposure of the subtlest trickery and of the 
cruellest neglect, is very far from being a light one ; yet 
I owe it as well to my own, as to the national, honour to 
drag these criminals before the bar of Public Opinion ; 
and, with the help of all whose sense of right and dignity 
will impel them to strengthen my hands, I do not yet 
despair of securing their exemplary punishment. 

" Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just ; 
And he but naked, though locked up in steel, 
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted." 



CHAPTER XVII. 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 



With heavy heart and weakened body I bade farewell to 
my numerous kind friends at Suez, and set my face 
towards England. The escape from Egyptian cruelty 
and trickery was a most grateful one, and the prospect of 
obtaining justice at home added to my enjoyment of 
the comforts provided for me by the watchful sympathy 
of Captain Kellick, the manager of the P. and 0. Com- 
pany, who generously put me on board that beautiful 
steam-tug ' Timsa ; ' to the captain and chief engineer of 
which I must not omit to record my obligations. In 
twenty -four hours we arrived at Port Said, where the 
warmest welcome awaited me at the hands of Messrs. 
Webster, Royal and Lambert, of the celebrated Port Said 
Coal Company, whose attention to the wants of my con- 
dition embraced every accessible nourishment. Their 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 



269 



cheerful society dissipated tlie gloom of my existence, 
their fun and spirits seeming to defy depression by the 
climate ; and Mr. Baker, of the Ottoman Bank, gratified 
me with the exhibition of his valuable collection of 
Syrian glass. 

As a singular example of consular humanity, let 
me record the fact that I followed the funeral of a 
poor sailor, at which, in default of a clergyman, Mr. 
Percival read the service over his remains. Mr. Percival 
had just assumed office ; and this was, I believe, the first 
instance, known here, of poor Jack being buried with 
this mark of respect, whereat the Arabs, accustomed to 
seeing other treatment, marvelled not a little. 

Port Said has become a very important place, the 
shipping that comes through the Canal being enormous ; 
and, having regard to this feature of the locality, it is 
really surprising that an English clergyman is not sent 
either here or to Suez ; between which and Port Said he 
might easily divide his time. There is a large resident 
English population here, to whom the services of a 
Protestant minister would be highly acceptable ; and his 
adequate support would be secured not only by their 
contributions, but by the well-known liberality of the P. 
and 0. and the Telegraph services. Mr. West, the Con- 
sul at Suez, enjoys a considerable allowance for reading 
the Church Service once on Sundays ; but he is superior 
to the charity of burying any one who does not leave 
behind him realizable effects. 

There is a large Arab Hospital here, maintained, as is 
every institution in the East, by European liberality. 



2J0 



ORIEXTAL ZIGZAG. 



The roughness of the Arab doctor to his patients is 
extreme] and is not very apt to impress them with his 
capacity for healing. I had a small experience in that 
way when I was in Abyssinia; where the fellow made me 
put my tongue out, and dug his finger into it with 
frightful severity. But, after all, I am not disposed to 
reckon the Arab practitioner much worse than his Portu- 
guese brother^ who thinks you should take a whole 
champagne bottle full of nauseous medicine. The Arab 
Pharmacopoeia, of course, is unique for herbal remedies 
strange to the medical science of Great Britain. 

I was witness here to a painful case of destitution. It 
was that of a poor fellow who, after a life of hardship in 
Australia in the capacity of a shepherd, was working his 
passage home before the mast. He fell ill with a severe 
cold on the Eed Sea, and, failing to obtain the required 
assistance from the Consulate at Suez, came on to Port 
Said. He did not linger long in his misery; but all that 
kindness could do for him was, I am proud to write it, 
done for him by Mr. and Mrs. Percival, who took a room 
for him in the hospital, and saw to the provision of neces- 
saries ; Mrs. Percival relieving his weary wakeful hours 
by reading words of hope and comfort to the humble 
patient. He was buried in the European burying- 
ground of Port Said, which I do not hesitate to say is a 
disgrace to civilization, the coffins being rudely placed in 
small "wretchedly plastered vaults above the ground, one 
over the other. 

Even for this miserable accommodation the Arab 
government demands a large sum per body. No wonder 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 



271 



that my friends, when I called their attention to the in- 
decent exposure of the coffins (the plaster, as at Suez, 
yielding to the influence of the climate, and the bones 
soon to bleach the Desert), used to express their horror of 
being buried here, and to say they should direct their 
bodies to be taken two or three miles out to sea and 
consigned to watery graves. 

Not far from Port Said is an Arab village, perpetually 
familiar with the small-pox and violent fevers. Its 
proximity to the port is such that it is frightful to 
think of the communication of disease hence to the 
shipping. 

The Governor of Port Said is a very unpopular ruler, 
under whom rows seem to be the order of the day. 
Captain Stapleton and Mr. Turner, while I was here, 
were attacked by Arabs, whom they had great difficulty 
in getting punished. The Governor's son, however, 
deserves to have a few lines devoted to himself. He was 
educated in Paris, and, as befits such training, is full of 
the dressiest notions, although I have never yet known 
of an Arab succeeding in putting on his clothes with the 
elegance of a Frenchman. Compressing his feet into the 
tightest of boots, he walks about in visible pain, — a 
martyr to excruciating fashion ; and his crisp-curled 
locks, elaborately scented and unguentified, he parts 
with dandy precision both in the middle and behind. 
Altogether, he takes himself to be " the glass of fashion 
and the mould of form/' and his faith in those delusions 
seems to be invincible by the rude shocks administered 
to his vanity by his less aspiring neighbours. He may 



2J2 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG, 



be seen promenading superbly with either a French or 
an Italian woman on his arm ; but I don't think he has 
yet prevailed on an English girl to avail herself of the 
sweet privilege. 

The steamer e Alnwick Castle ' brought me on to 
Malta. The passage was a very boisterous one, and 
somewhat prolonged; but Captain Freeman's agreeable 
manners served to moderate its roughness. Yery strik- 
ing is the sighting of Malta by night, when the hundreds 
of lights disposed over the various points of the fortifica- 
tions seem to spring simultaneously out of the sea ; a 
fairy scene to gladden the heart of voyager. Nothing 
new can be said on the subject, I am fully aware ; yet I 
suppose I must mention that the greater part of the 
population appear to live by the rearing of canaries and 
the sale of inferior lace. Maltese lace with some is 
synonymous with excellence ; whereas really good lace, 
as distinguished from the popularly vended article, is to 
be had only at one or two manufactories; of which it 
may interest my lady readers to know that the best is 
Borg's — don't start, ladies ! — no relation of the Cairo 
dragoman ; or I should not give him the benefit of this 
advertisement : but Borg in Malta is as common a name 
as Brown is with us. It is only necessary to mention 
General Sir Charles Straubenzee, the famous Crimean 
hero, as the governor, to understand the character of 
his rule ; and social life is regulated as it should be 
under the presidency of his accomplished and amiable 
lady. 

We experienced very rough weather until we neared 



MALTA. 



273 



the Spanish coast, off which were several men-of-war 
looking suspiciously about. Hugging the coast as we 
did, the scenery was most refreshing to the eye, the 
hill- sides being clothed in the lovely cool green of 
Spring. When we sighted Gibraltar, as the captain 
predicted, a stiff gale prevailed. " The Rock" was in 
great distress over the melancholy catastrophe of the 
ship c Queen Elizabeth/ which had been recently blown 
ashore in a hurricane, with large loss of life. She was 
one of a line of ships notably associated with disasters. 
As usual, these wrecks cause great profits to the Portu- 
guese, Maltese and Spaniards, who here are neither more 
nor less than wreckers, as the Maltese are on the Red 
Sea ; and " Lloyds " has a wide sphere for watchfulness 
in respect of them. A pretty sight was that of a Portu- 
guese man-of-war which, coming into the harbour, 
saluted our flag. Though I have been a wanderer for 
twelve years, I never before witnessed another nation 
salute our flag first, though, of course, I have seen our 
flag saluting foreign flags at foreign ports ; — a circum- 
stance explained by the fact that my travels have mostly 
been in countries not subject to the British Crown. The 
return salute from the fort was of striking grandeur. 
The echo reverberated magnificently ; and the precision 
of the firing contrasted strongly with that of the Portu- 
guese, who do everything feebly. 

Off Gape St. Vincent the weather became delightfully 
calm ; and for the first time in my life I crossed the Bay 
of Biscay in a perfect quiet. 

Dorsetshire was the first point on the English coast 

T 



274 



ORIENTAL ZIGZAG. 



which greeted my eager sight. At Dover the pilot took 
charge of us; and off Millwall I was rewarded with a 
hearty welcome from my dear friend, Mr. F. Gr. H. 
Price ; who three years before this received me at South- 
ampton on my return from Central Africa. 



ADDENDA. 



OSMAN ABAZA. 

As a trifling contribution to the vast store of " Things not 
generally known," I submit the following Note : — 

Osman Abaza has seven-and-twenty brothers, all of whom 
are Beys holding posts of considerable power in Egypt. 
It may not be uninteresting to the reader to learn that 
his sister is supposed to have been the woman who had 
the prime share in the poisoning of the late Viceroy ; and 
tradition has it that, escaping from Egypt to Constanti- 
nople, she was rewarded for her services by being seized, 
tied up in a sack, and dropped into the watery grave 
readily provided by the Bosphorus. The story goes that, 
with an ingenuity highly creditable to the family, she got 
two boys attached to the household to support the corpse 
on either side, holding it up in a close carriage to cheat 
the people of Cairo into the belief that the Viceroy still 
lived, until she could communicate with the friends of the 
present ruler ; whose obligations to the family, founded 
on so amiable a transaction, I have no need to dwell 
upon. 



276 



ADDENDA. 



On the subject of Slavery, upon which the British mind 
is in such deplorable darkness, it may not be amiss for me 
to quote the following passage from a letter recently 
received by me from Zagazig. The writer, I can testify, 
is one fully qualified to speak on the dark theme : — 

" Slaves are getting plentiful here. They come in great 
" numbers from the coast ; and, as the ganger who has 
"thern pays the government tax per head in Cairo, 
"nothing is said. In fact, Egypt is in a fearful state 
"at present; — anything to get money for the Viceroy: so, 
" should you want one or two, I could get you a mother 
" and bairn for about twenty napoleons. It is a disgrace ; 
"but people in England get no reliable news of the 
"country. There is every prospect of a bad Nile this 
"year. The poor fellahs are again called upon for two 
"years' taxes in advance. If they can't pay, they are 
" thrashed until they confess every bit of property they 
"possess, which is then sold, even to the burnoose on 
"their backs. If that is not sufficient, they search out 
" relations till they find one who can pay. 

"The other day about sixty men left their grounds, 
" houses and every thing, and went to Cairo, saying they 
" did not want ground, but begged to have work given 
" them, even to road-mending/' 

To those who meditate investment in " New Egyptian 
Loans " the following excerpt may be full of instruc- 
tion : — 

" The Viceroy is trying to raise a loan here (in his own 
" country) amongst the natives. For as low as £5 he 



ADDENDA. 



277 



" offers interest of about four shillings a month ; but 
" the loan is for ever ; the principal never to be 
" returned. But it does not answer. Although it is a 
" despotic government^ the people are not quite so green 
"as that. 

" His latest circular was to this effect : — Any soldier 
"'deserting^ his father or friends shall pay £150 sterling; 
"but, if they like to buy him out; £100 is the sum 
"required. Now, soldiers here are pressed; consequently 
"there is great dread of soldiering. The soldier, there- 
" fore, has only to say to his friends, c If you don't buy 
" me off, I will run away.' See the amount of money to 
"be collected in this way by the Government. It beats 
" loans at ten per cent. ; and he gets fresh recruits as fast 
" as he likes to send the orders for any number." 

]\Iy correspondent, let me repeat, knows what he writes 
about. He has the very best opportunities for observing 
both men and things ; and his testimony is unimpeach- 
able. 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



Copy of Telegram from Zagazig to the British Consul, 
Cairo (despatched at 8 p.m.) ; 25th Nov. 1873. 

Charles Hamilton and Charles Clarke have been badly 
beaten by Arabs at the neighbourhood of Sharwida. The 
former in dangerous state. Local authority has taken 
immediate steps to arrest parties. Will inform you to- 
morrow Hamilton's position. 

(Signed) Felice. 



Copy of Telegram from Zagazig to General Stanton, 
Consul General, Cairo ; 26th Nov. 1873. 

Having been nearly killed by Arabs while walking 
unarmed yesterday, I seek your protection as an English 
subject. My reference of being an English gentleman is 
Child's Bank, Temple Bar, London. Am severely injured 
in kidneys. Until today no hopes of recovery. 

(Signed) Pro C. Hamilton, 
C. Clarke. 



282 



APPENDIX. 



Copy of Telegram from Zagazig to the British Consul? 
Cairo (despatched 11.30 a.m.) ; 26th Nov. 1873. 

Hamilton passed bad night. Report today. 

(Signed) Felice. 



Copy of Telegram received from Consulate at Cairo 
(twenty-four hours after having been advised of the 
outrage) to Felice at Zagazig ; 26th Nov. 1873. 

Egyptian delegue proceeds tomorrow to institute in- 
quiry. Afford every facility. 

(Signed) R. Borg. 

[The reader will observe that it is the "Egyptian 
delegue " who proceeds to institute the inquiry.] 

Copy of Telegram from Alexandria (despatched at 9.30 
a.m.), 27th Nov. 1873, to Mr. Charles Hamilton, Zagazig. 

Your telegram of last night received. Have instructed 
British Consulate at Cairo to send competent officer 
immediately to Zagazig to investigate complaint. 

(Signed) Edwd. Stanton. 

[As will be seen by the previous telegram, the Consul 
General's instruction to "send competent officer" was 
executed by the Maltese dragoman Borg's intimation of 
the despatch of the "Egyptian delegue."] 



APPENDIX. 283 

Copy of Telegram from Zagazig to British Consulate at 
Cairo; 27th Nov. 1873. 

Enquiry commenced, but Hamilton is worse. 

(Signed) Felice. 

Copy of Telegram from Zagazig to British Consulate at 
Cairo {despatched at 11.50 a.m.) ; 28th Nov. 1873. 

Mr. Hamilton better to-day. Particulars later. 

(Signed) Felice. 



Copy of Telegram from Zagazig to British Consulate at 
Cairo; 29th Nov. 1873. 

Doctor states to-day Hamilton out of danger, but far 
from recovery. Medical certificates by Egyptian delegue. 

(Signed) Felice. 



Copy of Telegram from Cairo to Mr. C. Hamilton at 
Zagazig; 18th Dec. 1873. 

Your claim for compensation being against private 
persons, not against the Egyptian Government, must be 
referred to the tribunal for decision. British subjects as 
well as others, when bringing claims against natives, must 
conform with the laws and customs of the country. 

(Signed) Edwd. Stanton. 



284 



APPENDIX. 



Copy of tivo Telegrams addressed by Mr. Hamilton, 
Zagazig, to General Stanton at Alexandria ; 29th Nov. 
1873. 

I am sorry to have to inform you that it was just 24 
hours from the time of the first telegram advising Cairo 
of the attempt to murder me that a reply was made by 
the Maltese agent at Cairo for Consul Sogers, stating 
that an Egyptian delegue would be sent the following day. 
This so alarmed me in the frightful position in which I 
was that it was only hearing at the last moment that you 
were here that prevented my telegraphing to Lord 
Granville through my brother. 



Today my full faculties have returned,, I hope you will 
be so kind as to ask for my deposition made (after 12 , 
midnight) on the morning of the 28th instant. My 
thanks are due to the Egyptian Government Doctor, 
Mourad Effendi, for his great attention ; to Showky 
Effendi for his great kindness ; and to the poor fellah who 
saved my life near the village ; and to Selim Beg, agent 
of the Mouderieh. 



Tc these two telegrams General Stanton replied as 
follows : — 

Alexandria, 

Nov. 29th, 1873. 

Sir, 

I am in receipt of your two telegrams of this date 



APPENDIX. 



285 



and am most happy to hear you are in a fair way of 
recovery from the injuries you have received and I trust 
you will shortly be fully restored to health. I regret 
however to observe that you are under the impression 
that your case has been neglected by Mr. Borg, who in 
the absence of Mr. Consul Rogers is in charge of the 
Cairo Consulate. Such I assure you has not been the 
case. It was nearly midnight on the 25th when Mr. 
Borg received the first intimation of the assault having 
been committed, and early on the morning of the 26th, 
the matter was brought to the notice of the local authori- 
ties and instructions sent to Mr. Felice who is now acting 
as British Consular Agent at Zagazig, and the fact of 
three of your assailants having been arrested that day 
proves that no time has been wasted by the local authori- 
ties in the matter. Mr. Borg was obliged, in consequence 
of the absence of the dragoman of the Consulate on duty, 
to accept H. E. Nubar Pacha's proposal to send an intel- 
ligent and expert officer to enquire into the case, and he 
has instructions to report to me the result of the enquiry 
without any delay. And I may assure you, you need be 
under no apprehension that the case will be neglected, or 
that a proper punishment will not be exacted from the 
Egyptian authorities. 

I am. Sir, 
Your obdt. servant 

Edwd. Stanton 
H. M/s Agent and Consul General. 

C. Hamilton Esqr. 

etc. etc. 



286 



APPENDIX. 



Of my answer to tlie above no copy has been preserved. 
It was dated the 5th December, and General Stanton's 
annexed reply bears date the 10th. Alexandria, be it 
remembered, is, at the outside, within four hours' postal 
reach of Cairo, as Zagazig is within two hours' railway 
reach of either Alexandria or Cairo. 

Alexandria , December 10th, 1873. 

Sir, 

My absence in Cairo during the last few days has 
prevented my replying earlier to your letter of the 5th 
instant, the purport of which I confess T hardly under- 
stand, but as it would appear from your remarks that you 
are under the impression that the Egyptian Government 
are in some manner responsible for the assault made on 
you, I may perhaps be permitted to observe that for my 
part I am unable to see in this affair anything to justify 
such an impression. 

There can be no question that a most unjustifiable and 
aggravated assault was committed on Mr. Clarke and 
yourself by certain Arabs ; these Arabs have been 
arrested, have admitted their guilt, and are now awaiting 
the sentence of the Court. Moreover an investigation 
has been ordered into the conduct of the sheikh of the 
village where the assault was committed, and I presume 
that in compliance with my instructions you have been 
requested to transmit to the Court, through the Acting 
Consular Agent at Zagazig, your demand for pecuniary 
indemnity for the losses and injuries sustained by you on 
the occasion ; and under these circumstances I am at a 



APPENDIX. 



287 



loss to see in what manner the course adopted can be 

considered unfavourable to British subjects, as suggested 

in vour letter. 
*/ 

It is, I think, hardly necessary for me to offer any 
remarks on the concluding paragraphs of your letter, and 
I can only renew the expression of my regret at the ill- 
treatment to which you have been subjected, and the 
assurance that a proper punishment of the offenders will 
be demanded from the Egyptian Government should a 
satisfactory reparation for the offence not be decreed by 
the Court to which the matter has been referred. 

I am, 
Sir, 

Your most obedient 

Humble servant 
(Signed) Edwd. Stanton. 



My narrative of the case will supply ail necessary 
criticism on the foregoing document. I will, therefore, 
content myself here with calling the reader's attention to 
the fact that the Consul General has acquiesced in the 
award to me (of course I have never seen it) of the 
munificent sum of half "the nett proceeds" of the 
prisoners' property valued (before sale, and therefore 
reducible) at piastres 1465, i.e. £12 • and that, in addition 
to the impunity enjoyed by Osman Abaza, he thinks the 
trifling sentences passed upon my assailants " satisfac- 
tory/' 



288 



APPENDIX. 



The reader need not be troubled to go through the 
various letters I found occasion to address to the officials 
in Egypt. The replies submitted will speak for them- 
selves. They have an eloquence of their own which 
abolishes the necessity of other reference. The burden 
of my complaint, which was so irritating to those who, as 
I fondly imagined^ were entrusted with the solemn and 
responsible office of protecting British interests, was that 
my interests were being sacrificed through their inatten- 
tion. The result of the proceedings, I am simple enough 
to maintain, shews that my interests have been, as I 
anticipated they would be, sacrificed ; and I am, further, 
ingenuous enough to think that the documents most 
completely support that view. 

Cairo, December 31st, 

1873. 

Sir, 

I am in receipt of your letter of the 29th instant 
referring to the assault committed on you some time since 
by certain natives of this country, and must express my 
surprise at the manner in which you have thought proper 
to address me. 

You have already been informed that the matter is one 
for a Tribunal to decide and that the Egyptian Govern- 
ment is in no way mixed up in it, and you must be 
perfectly aware that the Local Authorities have taken the 
necessary steps to bring the offenders to justice. 

When the sentence of the Court is communicated to 
me due information on the subject will be forwarded you, 



APPENDIX. 



289 



but in the mean time I must beg to decline any further 
correspondence on the subject. 

The Acting Consular Agent at Zagazig is under the 
orders of Her Majesty's Consul at Cairo, and if you have 
any complaint to make against that gentleman, I must 
request you will address yourself on the subject to Mr. 
Kogers, who will, I doubt not, make every proper inquiries 
into such complaint ; but I can myself take no notice of 
such remarks as those made by you in your letter to 
myself. 

I am, 
Sir, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

(Signed) Edwd. Stanton. 

C. Hamilton, Esq., 

Zagazig. 



H. M. Consulate, 

Cairo, January 19 th, 

■ 1874. 

Sir, 

Immediately on the receipt of your note dated 
January 16th, I laid it before Major General E. Stanton, 
Her Majesty's Agent and Consul General in Egypt, 
through whom any claim on the Egyptian Government 
must necessarily be transmitted. 

General Stanton declines taking any steps to forward 
your claim in its present form, as the Egyptian Govern- 

u 



290 



APPENDIX. 



ment was in no way concerned in, nor responsible for, 
the outrage of which you were the victim. 

You were attacked by private people. They have been 
tried, convicted and sentenced to various terms of im- 
prisonment with hard labour. The Egyptian Government 
has therefore done its duty. 

If however, in addition to the criminal trial, you desire 
to proceed against your aggressors in a civil suit for 
damages, I am quite willing to receive and forward your 
claim to the Authorities that the case may be heard. 

In conclusion I beg to assure you of my sincere 
sympathy in your misfortunes at Zagazig. 
I am, Sir, 

Tour Obedient Servant, 
(Signed) B. T. Rogees, 

H. B. M. Consul. 

C. E. Hamilton, Esq., 

Zagazig. 



H. B. M. Consulate, 

Cairo, 17th Febry. 

1874. 

Sir, 

I have the honour to inclose herewith for your infor- 
mation a copy of a despatch that I have received from 
General Stanton inclosing an Arabic copy of the minutes 
of the trial of the persons who attacked you and Mr. 
Clarke in the neighbourhood of Zagazig. I also inclose 



APPENDIX. 



291 



a translation of the concluding paragraph of that docu- 
ment, which is indeed the summing up and sentence. 
Should you require the whole of the minutes, I will cause 
them to be translated for you, but to avoid loss of time I 
thought it better only to translate the verdict at present. 

I have the honour also to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter dated Suez February 14th, complaining that 
one Osman Abaza has not been u made to make you due 
" reparation for his participation in that cruel and 
" dastardly treatment of you," etc. 

According to the tenor of the few letters that I have 
received from you, you seem to confound the civil with 
the criminal part of your complaint. The persons who 
maltreated you have been condemned and sentenced to 
various terms of imprisonment. As to your present alle- 
gation that Osman Abaza took part in the assault, I have 
never heard of it until now. In the minutes it is recorded 
that you deposed to his having ordered your release when 
you were found bound to Mr. Clarke, and that he sent 
some of his own people with you to the Government 
Authorities. In the summing up he is acquitted by the 
Tribunal. If however you have any desire to prosecute 
him either civilly or criminally, I will forward to the pro- 
per Authorities any representation you wish to make on 
the subject, if it be prepared in a proper form. 

I have the honour to be, 
Sir, 

Your Obedient Servant, 
(Signed) E. T, Rogers. 



2 92 APPENDIX. 

[Copy of despatch above referred to."] 

Cairo, February 9th, 1874. 

Sir, 

I transmit for your information the accompanying 
despatch, which I have received from His Excellency 
Nubar Pasha, inclosing a copy of the sentence given by 
the court at Zagazig in the case of Messrs Clarke and 
Hamilton, and have to request that you will cause a 
translation of the same to be communicated to those 
Gentlemen for any observations they may wish to offer 
thereon. 

I have etc. etc. 
(Signed) Edwd. Stanton. 

E. T. Rogers, Esq., 
H. B. M. Consul, 

Cairo. 



[Copy of Sentence of the Court above referred to.] 
Translation . 

The Court having considered the above detailed evi- 
dence has passed the following Judgment. 

Whereas it appears that when both Mr. Charles 
Clarke the English Telegraph Agent at Zagazig and Mr. 
Charles Hamilton had gone out for walk and shooting on 
the 6th of Shawal 1290 to Sharwida and Zangaloon, 
Mr. Charles Clarke had fired at a squirrel as he said and 
hit a girl named Sit El Nass in the ear with small shot. 
Ali El Digghi, Hassan El Awadee, Ibrahim Ibrahim, 



APPENDIX. 



293 



Awadallah El Deeb and Hassan El Gharkan of Zanga- 
loon came to the spot and struck the said Gentlemen — 
these Individuals had been arrested and sent to the 
Moudirieh — the assailed parties had been examined and 
the marks showed that the said girl was hit, during the 
verification four of the assailants admitted the charge 
brought against them by the gentlemen. Mr. Charles 
Clarke admitted his having fired and hit the said girl. 
Although both the assailed parties and the girl have 
been completely restored to health without any perma- 
nent injury in their bodies, but as the five assailants had 
the audacity of quarrelling with and beating the Gentle- 
men which action is contrary to the spirit of justice they 
are ordered to be sent to the Galleys at Alexandria 
vizt. : 

The first one Ali El Digghi who struck with the 
ISTabboot as also with the stock of the Gun and instigated 
the others to strike them should go there for Eight 
Months. 

The second one Hassan El Awadee and the third one 
Awadallah El Deeb who were accused of striking with 
the Nabboot as also with the stock of the Gun should 
go there for six months. 

The fourth one Ibrahim Ibrahim accused of beating 
with the hands and the like should be imprisoned for 
three months in the Mudirieh. 

The fifth one Hassan El Gharkan notwithstanding his 
denial of taking part in the scuffie and the declaration 
made by the Gentlemen that they did not see him beat- 
ing with the others but he having admitted that he was 



294 



APPENDIX. 



present and witnessed what had passed and on the 
other hand his comrades having accused him of taking 
part with them in the battery he is to be also imprisoned 
in the Mudirieh for two months. 

The imprisonment of the said five persons is reckoned 
from the 7 Shawal 1290 (26 November 1873). 

With regard to the losses sustained by the said 
Gentlemen together with the cost of medicines amount- 
ing to Ps 2224/14 the said five Individuals being in pos- 
session of Cattle and other Articles valued at Ps 1465 
these should be sold and the amount of their nett pro- 
ceeds distributed among the said Gentlemen in propor- 
tion of the sum claimed by each, but the remainder sum 
of Ps 758/20 is struck out owing to their insolvency and 
the adequate punishment inflicted upon them. 

Mustapha Hassaballah and Ibrahim Garbooaa the 
watchmen who were on their duty near the Sharwidah 
embankment having neglected in arresting the assailants 
and putting a stop to the scuffle soon after they heard 
the report of the gun they are to be imprisoned in the 
Mudirieh a whole month. This and the preceding being 
in accordance to the spirit of the 2nd and 5th Article 
Sec. 7 of the Regulations and the 4th Article of the 
Circular published by the Ahkam in Saffar 1275 there 
being no previous conviction. 

Mr. Charles Clarke who should not fire arms in culti- 
vated lands where shooting is prohibited owing to the 
existence of natives there and by his doing so hit the 
girl and might have killed her — this caused the scuffle to 
take place — he being a Government employe should 



APPENDIX. 



2 95 



not ignore this prohibition he is to be warned this 
time. 

The Chiefs of Zangaloon and the Guards appointed 
there are not guilty they being stationed at a long 
distance from the spot. 

The Gentlemen having renounced their claim against 
Osman Effendi Abaza as no ill-treatment was proved in 
his charge he has been acquitted and his pretensions for 
reparation of honour rejected. 

The gun having been delivered by the Mudirieh to the 
Consular Agent for consignment to the proprietor and 
the Medical Officer having foregone his fees it is con- 
sidered sufficient. 

The Nabboot found in the scuffle should be impounded 
in the Mudirieh. 

All other persons are acquitted as they proved not 
guilty. 

Made and approved this 5 Zilkadek 1290 (24 Decem- 
ber, 1873). 

(L.S.) of the Tribunal of Mudiriet El Sharkieh. 



I am most anxious not to weaken the effect of a 
judicial document like the foregoing by the addition of 
superfluous comment. It speaks for itself, and will give 
the reader some faint idea of the impenetrable darkness 
in which I was left unaided to seek satisfaction from an 
Egyptian tribunal. A word, however, may not be out 
of place on the position of Osman Abaza in the trial. 



296 



APPENDIX. 



Against him Felice took very good care that no evidence 
should be recorded. As I have already explained, my 
anxiety regarding him was set at rest — as far as the 
hideous perplexity of my situation would allow — by 
Felice's assurance that " His Excellency " had volun- 
teered an ample confession of his guilt ; and to this 
paper I was required by Felice to attach my signature. 
Of course, it was neither interpreted to me nor read to 
the Court. It is easy now to see what was the real 
nature of the (so called) confession ; and, in looking over 
my papers, I have come across the following significant 
passage in a letter addressed by Felice to myself and 
Mr. Clarke conjointly, on 21st December last : — 

" sman Bey has given his deposition en my peesence, 
and I requested him to be found in case that I require 
Mm tomorrow' 3 

Felice, it will be seen, arranged matters as he pleased. 
As this statement abundantly shews, he managed the 
whole affair with supreme authority, while I was not only 
ignorant of all that passed, but powerless to direct or to 
check him ; and Osman Abaza's " acquittal " is the result. 

Again : it is news to me to learn that the medical 
officer had " forgone his fees." It may be so; but I 
certainly paid them to Felice, who never ceased to worry 
me for their discharge ; and, luckily for myself, I hold 
this receipt written out by Felice himself : — 

" Zagazig, 15th December, 1873. 

Received from Mr. S. Felice, Acting British Consular 
Agent of Sharkieh, the sum of eighty-one francs and 



APPENDIX. 



297 



fifteen centimes for the amount of medicines furnished to 
Mr. Charles Hamilton. 

Say Fes. 81 : 50/100 

(Signed) Glebici"* 

Now, unless the signature to this receipt be a forgery, 
the statement that the medical officer had " forgone his 
fees " is absolutely false ; and, if it be a forgery, who is 
the author of it ? 



H. B. M. Consulate, 

Cairo, 21th Fehry., 

1874. 

Sir, 

I duly received your telegram and your letters dated 
February 21st, copies of which I have forwarded to 
General Stanton. 

You ask me to fix a sum for your compensation. This 
I assure you is quite beyond my power. 

If you are prepared to prosecute Osman Abaza, and 
can prove his complicity in the assault to the satisfaction 
of the Tribunal, it will be the duty of that Tribunal to 
fix the amount of compensation that should be paid. Of 
course you will be prepared to meet the expenses attend- 
ing the trial, and will be present at the trial yourself or 

* The name is somewhat hard to decipher ; but this is as close a 
reproduction of it as I can manage. 



298 



APPENDIX, 



be represented by some duly constituted agent to act for 
you. 

I am. 

Sir, 

Tour Obedient Servant 

(Signed) E. T. Rogeks. 

C. Hamilton, Esq., 
Suez. 



My correspondence with the Foreign Office may be 
disposed of by setting forth below the following letters 
received therefrom : — 

Foreign Office, 

April lOfft, 1874. 

Sir, 

I am directed by the Earl of Derby to acknowledge 
the receipt of your letter of the 29th March respecting 
the ill-treatment to which you allege that you have been 
subjected in Egypt, and claiming compensation from the 
Egyptian Government ; and I am to state to you, in 
reply, that Major General Stanton has been instructed to 
furnish his Lordship with a report on your case. 
I am, Sir, 

Your most Obedient 
Humble Servant 

(Signed) Tenteeden. 

Mr. C. Hamilton, 

Port Said. 



APPENDIX. 



299 



Foreign Office, 

May 23rd, 1874. 

Sir, 

With reference to my letter of the 8th inst. 011 the 
subject of the claim preferred by you against the Egyp- 
tian Government on account of injuries received by you 
at the hands of certain Egpytians, I am to inform you 
that a report on your case has now been received from 
Her Majesty's Agent and Consul General at Alexandria, 
from which Lord Derby gathers that the Egyptian Au- 
thorities did all in their power under the circumstances 
by bringing to speedy justice the offenders and sentenc- 
ing them to various terms of imprisonment, with which 
you expressed yourself satisfied, except in the case of one 
individual ; and I am to state to you that, under these 
circumstances, Her Majesty's Goverment cannot give 
their support to your claim for pecuniary compensation. 
I am, 

Sir, 

Tour most Obedient 

Humble Servant 
(Signed) J. V. Lister. 

C. Hamilton, Esq., 

25, Clarendon Gardens, 

Maida Vale. 



Foreign Office, 

July 4th, 1874. 

Sir, 

In reply to your letter of the 25th ultimo, I am 
directed by the Earl of Derby to request that you will 



300 



APPENDIX. 



state explicitly the nature of the charge of " receipt of 
bribes " which, you prefer against Mr. Rogers and Mr. 
Felice,, and for which his Lordship can find no grounds 
in the papers forwarded by you. 
I am ; 

Sir, 

Your most Obedient 

Humble Servant 
(Signed) Tenterden. 

C. Hamilton, Esq., 

25, Clarendon Gardens, 

Maida Vale, W. 



Foreign Office, 

July \Mh, 1874. 

Sir, 

I am directed by the Earl of Derby to acknowledge 
the receipt of your further letter of the 8th instant, and I 
am to inform you in reply that his Lordship proposes to 
lay all the papers respecting your case before Mr. 
Bogers, who is now in England, for such observations as 
he may have to offer thereon. 

I am, 

Sir, 

Your most Obedient 

Humble Servant 
(Signed) Tenterden. 

C. Hamilton, Esq., 

25, Clarendon Gardens, 

Maida Yale. 



APPENDIX. 



301 



My narrative of the facts answers all these official 
communications by anticipation. There is one small 
matter, however, to which I would here invite the 
reader's attention. Lord Derby writes with evident 
satisfaction, inspired by the Consul- General's report, of 
" speedy justice." Now, it is not a little curious that 
the sentence of the Court professes to have been passed 
on the 24th December, 1873. Felice's letter, addressed 
to Mr. Clarke and myself, incontestably proves that that 
was not so : — 

" Zagazig, 24 January, 1874. 

Messrs. Hamilton and Clarke, 

Please call here at Mudirieh, they wish to make 
some questions. I will be waiting for you. 

Your's truly, 
(Signed) S. Felice." 

It will be seen that on 24dh January, 1874, the farce was 
still in swing ; and, to say the least of it, among many 
remarkable points in the case, to which justice must be 
done elsewhere, not the least remarkable is the circum- 
stance that I heard nothing of the sentence as having 
been passed at all until after, losing all patience at the 
frivolous and vexatious waste of time, I (on 16 th January, 
1874) sent to Mr. Consul Rogers my claim on the 
Egyptian Government for expenses of detention. Then 
only did I hear, in a gracefully allusive way, of the 
alleged fact; and it was not until the 17th February, 
1874, that I had specific information of the sentence 



APPENDIX. 



professedly passed on 24th December, 1873. But 
Felice's letter rather stops the way of this "speedy 
justice ; " the credit of which Lord Derby is so ready to 
assign to the Egyptian authorities. 

Finally, the reader is aware that the chivalrous kind- 
ness of Mr. H. B. Sheridan, the member for Dudley, has 
enabled me to bring the matter before the Parliament of 
Great Britain. From the Mutual-Admiration Red Tapeism 
of the Foreign Office I never, at any time, expected to 
derive any satisfaction. It was but accordant with the 
prevalent usage, however, that I should address that 
department. 

From the ' Daily Telegraph' of 18th July last I take 
the following :— 

Outrage on English Gentlemen. 

" Mr. H. B. Sheridan asked the Under-Secretary of 
State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention had been 
called to the attempt to murder an English gentleman 
f named Clarke, one of the officials of the Telegraph Com- 
pany in Egypt, and a Mr. Charles Edward Hamilton, 
another English gentleman, who happened to be passing 
the place where the attack was made upon Mr. Clarke, 
and who, attracted by his cries and the sound of blows, 
went to his assistance ; whether, if his attention had been 
called to the circumstance, he could state whether it was 
true that these two gentlemen were beaten with a nar- 
bote and with sticks for two or three hours, and were 
then dragged by ropes the distance of a mile to the 



APPENDIX. 



303 



nearest tree, with, the view of being hanged, but that the 
rope breaking they were dragged on to the village of 
Sherwida ; whether it was true that the band of Arabs 
committing this outrage was headed by Osman Abassa, 
the first cousin of the Viceroy of Egypt, son of a Minister 
of Finance, and Governor of the Land of Goshen, one of 
the richest provinces in Egypt; whether he had heard 
that upon reaching the village, Osman Abassa set the 
whole population upon these two gentlemen who, bound 
and almost insensible from blows, were exposed to every 
conceivable outrage until the arrival of Greek and 
French armed assistance ; whether it was true that upon 
these gentlemen being conveyed by these armed rescuers 
to the town of Zagazig, the telegraph messages sent on 
25th November, 1873, to General Stanton, her Majesty's 
Consul- General in Egypt at Cairo, a distance of only two 
hours by rail, remained unreplied to for three days, and 
that no messenger or visitor ever came from the Consu- 
late at Cairo during the whole time (over three months) 
that Mr. Hamilton lay in an almost hopeless condition at 
Zagazig ; and whether any money compensation had 
been raised in the locality in which the outrage took 
place ; and, if so, how much, and to whom had it been 
paid. 

" Mr. Bourke, in reply, said that Mr. Clarke and Mr. 
Hamilton, who was staying with Mr. Clarke, were out 
shooting together near a place called Sherwida, when 
Mr. Clarke fired at a squirrel in a maize field. Some of 
the shot wounded an Arab, whereupon a number of other 
Arabs came up and severely maltreated both the English- 



3°4 



APPENDIX. 



men. The attack was made by peasantry, and not as 
was suggested in the question. General Stanton, her 
Majesty's agent, received a telegram the same night 
stating what had occurred. At seven o'clock next morn- 
ing General Stanton telegraphed to the acting consul at 
Cairo, and reported that the local authorities were inquir- 
ing into the matter, and that three of the offenders had 
been arrested. No time was lost by the authorities in 
seeing that justice was done, and the proceedings were 
watched by the acting British vice-consul. Subsequently 
the offenders were tried, and one was condemned to 
eight months' and two to six months' hard labour, 
another to three months' imprisonment, another to two 
months', and the guard of the village to one month. 
(Laughter.) No fine was imposed upon the locality. 
Mr. Hamilton had expressed himself satisfied with the 
sentences, except that in the case of the chief offender. 
Under these circumstances it was not thought that a 
claim for compensation could be supported." 

Comment on Mr. Bourke's reply would be wasted. Only 
I ask the reader to note that the " chief offender " is 
Osman Abaza : against whom I struggled in vain to get 
Felice to put in overwhelming evidence of guilt. 

I again appeal to my countrymen and countrywomen 
to help me to obtain a searching Parliamentary Investi- 
gation of this disgraceful business. 



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